Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has experienced a strong resurgence, with active subscriptions rising to 169.3 million in January 2025, up from 164.9 million in December 2024.

According to industry statistics published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), this growth marks a significant recovery after a previous decline, which saw subscriptions drop to 154.9 million in September 2024.

The decline was largely attributed to the mass deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in February 2024 and the sector’s rebasing in September 2024. However, the industry has steadily regained momentum, with subscriptions increasing to 164.9 million in December 2024 before reaching 169.3 million in January 2025.

Growth Driven by MTN and Airtel

The NCC reported that the recent surge in subscriptions was primarily driven by two major network operators, MTN and Airtel.

“This growth momentum has also boosted the country’s teledensity, which measures the penetration of active telephone connections, rising to 78.10% from 76.08% recorded in December 2024,” the NCC stated.

Market Share Breakdown

Industry statistics show that MTN Nigeria strengthened its market leadership, increasing its share to 51.7%, with 87.5 million subscribers in January 2025, up from 84.6 million in December 2024.

Airtel also expanded its subscriber base to 57.6 million, holding a market share of 34.1%, up from 56.6 million in the previous month.

Globacom, which faced subscriber losses earlier in 2024 due to a regulatory audit, is showing signs of recovery, growing from 20.1 million subscribers in December 2024 to 20.5 million in January 2025.

However, 9mobile continued to struggle, with its market share declining further. The operator, once a dominant player with 23.4 million subscribers and a 15.7% market share in 2015, has seen its subscriber base stagnate at 3.2 million for three consecutive months.

Mobile Number Portability Trends

The NCC’s report also highlighted porting activities among mobile users. In January 2025, 8,708 subscribers switched networks, a significant increase from the 2,998 recorded in December 2024.

9mobile suffered the highest number of port-outs, with 6,716 customers leaving its network. In contrast, MTN gained the most new subscribers from porting, with 5,551 users joining its network. Airtel recorded 2,414 incoming porting activities, while Globacom gained 736 new customers. Notably, 9mobile recorded only seven incoming porting requests for January.

The surge in porting activities reflects increasing competition in the telecoms sector, as consumers seek better services and connectivity.

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