Nigeria’s active telecommunications subscriptions increased to 200.3 million in September, crossing the 200 million mark for the first time since the National Identification Number-SIM linkage exercise triggered mass line disconnections in 2024.
Latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission showed that active subscriptions rose by approximately 2.9 million from 197.4 million recorded in August.
The September figure of 200,337,097 represented an increase from 197,416,694 in the preceding month. Teledensity also climbed to 92.41 per cent from 91.07 per cent.
The NCC defines teledensity as the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants.
The measure reflects subscriptions rather than unique users, as individuals can own multiple SIM cards.
The data showed that 4G maintained its dominance, accounting for 54.37 per cent of mobile connections in September. 2G accounted for 36.42 per cent, while 3G represented 4.16 per cent.
The share of 5G connections also increased to 5.05 per cent from 4.92 per cent in August.
Internet subscriptions rose to 160.9 million in September from 158.5 million in the previous month.
Similarly, broadband subscriptions increased to 128 million from 126.2 million, while broadband penetration improved to 59.05 per cent from 58.22 per cent.
However, total internet data consumption declined to 1.73 million terabytes in September from 1.76 million terabytes recorded in August.
Mobile number porting also increased during the month, with 1,603 subscribers switching networks, compared with 1,111 in August.
MTN recorded the highest number of incoming ports at 854, followed by Airtel with 580 and Globacom with 165. Vitel recorded four incoming ports, while T2 had none.
The data further showed that the telecommunications industry’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product rose to 9.72 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, up from 9.19 per cent in the first quarter.
Fixed broadband infrastructure also expanded, with Fibre to the X subscriptions increasing to 401,666 in the third quarter from 319,735 in the preceding quarter.
The NCC’s FTTX category covers fibre connections to homes, offices, streets, hubs and other locations. It also includes subscriptions from internet service providers and fixed or private network operators.
