Nigeria’s telecommunications sector recorded significant growth in the first seven months of 2026, with operators adding more than 12.8 million new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards as Nigerians consumed 10.2 million terabytes of data during the period.
Gatekeepers News reports that the latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in its July report show continued growth in subscriber numbers and internet usage, highlighting Nigerians’ increasing reliance on telecommunications services, particularly mobile internet.
The surge in SIM activations, driven largely by major operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, also reflects the industry’s shift from traditional voice services towards data-driven consumption.
Financial results from leading operators further indicate that data services have become a major revenue driver for the telecommunications sector.
MTN Nigeria reported that its active data users increased to 55.7 million, while average monthly data consumption per subscriber rose by 15.1 per cent to 14.8 gigabytes (GB).
The increased demand helped push MTN’s half-year data revenue to N1.70 trillion, accounting for more than 56 per cent of its total service revenue.
Airtel Nigeria also reported strong growth in data usage, with average customer consumption rising by 30.8 per cent to 11GB per subscriber monthly.
The aggregate 10.2 million terabytes of data consumed during the seven-month period translates to an average of more than 48,000 terabytes daily.
The rising consumption has been attributed to increased smartphone adoption, high-definition video streaming on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Netflix, as well as the growing use of fintech services, remote work tools and mobile commerce.
Higher smartphone penetration and the expansion of 4G and 5G networks have also contributed to the shift. MTN, for instance, reported smartphone penetration of 66.4 per cent on its network.
Based on the current pace of consumption, Nigeria’s total data usage could reach between 18 million and 20 million terabytes by the end of 2026.
This projection is based on the 13.2 million terabytes of data consumed in 2025, compared with the 10.2 million terabytes already recorded in just seven months of 2026.
However, the rapid increase in data consumption has also placed additional pressure on network infrastructure, with subscribers continuing to report complaints about rapid data depletion and service challenges in some locations.
To address the growing demand, major telecommunications operators have invested more than N1.6 trillion in capital expenditure to expand network capacity, strengthen tower infrastructure, extend fibre-optic networks and reduce congestion at cell sites across the country.
As internet connectivity becomes increasingly essential to social and economic activities, analysts expect Nigeria’s data consumption to continue rising, further cementing the telecommunications industry’s role at the centre of the country’s digital transformation.
