Nigerian telecom subscribers consumed a record-breaking 1.04 million terabytes of data in May 2025, even as the country witnessed a slight decline in active internet subscriptions, according to the latest industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The May figure represents the highest monthly data usage recorded since January 2023, when the NCC began publishing detailed consumption data. In April, data consumption stood at 983,283 terabytes, while the previous peak was set in January 2025 at 1 million terabytes.
Why the surge in data use?
Industry analysts attribute the surge in data usage to the increasing adoption of high-definition video streaming, remote work activities, online gaming, and the growing popularity of data-heavy social media content among Nigerian youths.
Despite the significant rise in consumption, the country saw a dip in internet subscriptions, largely due to the recent 50% tariff hike by major telecom operators.
According to the NCC, total internet subscriptions across mobile, fixed, wired, ISP, and VoIP services dropped to 141.5 million in May from 141.9 million in April. The decline was most notable among mobile network operators (MNOs), which dominate Nigeria’s internet landscape.
Subscriptions on MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile collectively fell from 141.4 million to 141 million during the period.
Mobile subscriptions: Winners and losers
Overall, total active mobile subscriptions also declined marginally to 172.4 million in May from 172.6 million in April.
Breaking it down:
- MTN, Nigeria’s largest network by subscribers, lost 258,313 active lines, bringing its total to 90.2 million from 90.5 million in April.
- 9mobile, which recently entered into an infrastructure-sharing agreement with MTN to improve service quality, recorded a loss of 291,214 subscriptions, dropping to 2.6 million from 2.9 million.
- Conversely, Airtel gained 342,597 new subscriptions, pushing its total to 58.9 million from 58.5 million in April.
- Globacom maintained a stable customer base at 20.6 million.
Market share data from NCC showed that MTN maintained its dominance with 52.33%, followed by Airtel at 34.17%, Globacom at 11.96%, and 9mobile with 1.55%.
Impact on teledensity
The overall dip in active connections caused a slight decline in the country’s teledensity — a key metric that indicates the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants. In May, teledensity fell to 79.65%, down from 79.78% in April.
The NCC calculates teledensity using a population estimate of 216 million, highlighting how minor fluctuations in subscriptions can significantly affect national connectivity indicators.
What you should know
The paradox of rising data consumption alongside falling subscriptions underscores a shifting usage pattern: fewer but more data-intensive users. Many Nigerians are consolidating lines to cut costs while increasing reliance on heavy data services such as video calls, social media reels, and cloud-based applications.
Meanwhile, ongoing network investments and the rollout of 5G services in select cities are expected to further boost data consumption trends, even as affordability challenges persist for low-income subscribers.
Experts suggest that operators may need to balance pricing strategies with aggressive capacity expansion to avoid alienating segments of the market, particularly rural and low-income urban users.
