Growth in Mobile Subscriptions and Broadband Penetration
According to recent data, Nigeria has witnessed a notable increase in mobile subscriptions. As of September 2025, approximately 1.97 million new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards were activated nationwide. This surge contributed to the total number of active voice subscriptions reaching 173.54 million, up from 171.57 million in August.
The teledensity, which measures the number of active telephone lines per 100 inhabitants, also saw a slight rise, increasing from 79.14% to 80.05%. This reflects consistent growth in mobile network subscriptions across major operators.
In addition, internet subscriptions rose from 139.7 million in August to 140.4 million in September. Broadband penetration also increased by 10 basis points, reaching 49.34%, with 106.97 million connections recorded. However, this figure still falls short of the Federal Government’s target of 70% broadband penetration for December 2025 as outlined in the National Broadband Plan.
Network Technology and Operator Market Shares
When it comes to network technology, 4G continues to dominate, accounting for 51.6% of mobile connections. This is followed by 2G at 38.4%, 3G at 6.6%, and 5G at 3.4%.
Among GSM operators, MTN Nigeria remains the market leader, with 90.33 million subscribers, representing a 52.12% market share. Airtel follows closely with 58.47 million users, or 33.74% of the market. Globacom recorded 21.39 million active connections (12.34%), while T2 (formerly 9mobile) holds 3.11 million subscribers (1.8%), an improvement from 2.73 million in August.
Despite the increase in new SIM activations, overall data consumption experienced a minor decline, dropping from 1.15 million terabytes in August to 1.14 million terabytes in September.
MTN Recognized as Top Performing Operator in Sub-Saharan Africa
Network intelligence firm Ookla has ranked MTN as the best-performing mobile operator in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using Speedtest Intelligence data and operator reports, Ookla evaluated the performance of Airtel Africa, Orange, MTN, and Vodacom across eight countries, which together represent 55% of SSA’s mobile connections.
The report highlighted that MTN Uganda led East Africa in network performance, while MTN Nigeria topped West Africa in 5G download speeds. MTN’s operations in Uganda, Nigeria, and Botswana were the only ones to achieve a 5G median download speed above 200 Mbps.
Other operators such as Orange (Botswana), Safaricom (Kenya), Airtel (Nigeria and Uganda), Vodacom, and MTN (South Africa) recorded median download speeds between 160 Mbps and 186 Mbps. In contrast, Airtel (Tanzania and Kenya) and Vodacom (Tanzania) had lower speeds, ranging from 60 Mbps to 130 Mbps.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Telecom Sector
Ookla noted that Sub-Saharan Africa remains an attractive telecom market due to its young and expanding population, along with growing demand for digital and financial services. However, the sector faces several challenges, including currency devaluation, inflation, high energy costs, sluggish economic growth, and regulatory pressures, such as lower mobile termination rates in Uganda.
Tariff adjustments in some markets, including Nigeria, have helped operators like Airtel mitigate the impact of currency depreciation and sustain revenue growth.