Nigeria recorded a slight drop in active internet subscriptions in June, but data consumption continued to rise, reflecting the country’s growing reliance on online services.
Figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show total active internet subscriptions — across mobile, fixed, and VOIP networks — fell to 141.1 million in June from 141.5 million in May, a 0.3% decline. Mobile operators MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and T2 (9mobile) accounted for 140.6 million of those subscriptions.
Despite the drop in numbers, Nigerians consumed 1.044 million terabytes of data in June, slightly above the 1.043 million terabytes recorded in May — the highest monthly total since the NCC began publishing such data in January 2023.
Dinesh Balsingh, a telecom industry executive, said the trend reflects an “exponential explosion of data usage” in urban centres. “Cities like Lagos are growing at lightning speed — more people, more businesses, more devices,” he noted.
The subscription decline was driven largely by MTN, which lost one million active lines, reducing its base to 89.2 million. Airtel and Globacom gained 36,316 and 263,028 new subscribers respectively, while 9mobile lost 236,238.
MTN still commands the largest market share at 52.03%, followed by Airtel (34.38%), Globacom (12.18%), and 9mobile (1.42%).
With active lines falling, Nigeria’s teledensity also slipped to 79.22% in June from 79.65% in May, according to the NCC.
