….MTN Nigeria Maintains Market Lead
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector recorded strong growth over the past year, with active mobile subscriptions rising to 182.2 million as of January 2026, data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shown.
The figure represents an increase of 13 million from the 169.3 million subscriptions reported in January 2025, underscoring continued expansion in mobile connectivity across the country.
Teledensity also improved significantly during the period, climbing to 84.06 per cent from 78.10 per cent year-on-year, reflecting broader access to telecommunications services nationwide.
Market data indicates that MTN Nigeria retained its dominant position with 94.2 million subscribers, accounting for 51.78 per cent of the total market share.
The report further highlights an ongoing shift from legacy network technologies to faster broadband services. Fourth-generation (4G) networks now account for 53.41 per cent of total subscriptions, up from 47.23 per cent in January 2025.
Data consumption also rose sharply within the period, with total internet usage increasing to 1,385,536.04 terabytes in January 2026 from 1,000,930.60 terabytes a year earlier. The surge reflects growing reliance on digital services such as video streaming, remote work platforms and social media.
Industry analysts attribute the sustained rise in subscriptions and data usage to Nigeria’s accelerating digital transformation, driven by ongoing investments in broadband infrastructure and increased adoption of high-speed connectivity. The trend reinforces the telecom sector’s role as a critical enabler of economic growth and digital inclusion.
