The Nigerian Communications Commission reports that monthly mobile data consumption surged by approximately 140 per cent, increasing from around 518,000 terabytes in January 2023 to more than 1.23 million terabytes by November 2025.

In its New Year message, the commission cautioned that this growing demand is putting additional strain on network infrastructure.

The NCC also noted that many users continue to face inconsistent service quality, congestion in high-traffic areas, outages caused by power issues and infrastructure damage, and delays in resolving complaints.

“Operators, in turn, continue to face deep-rooted challenges, including rising operating costs, energy and logistics constraints, right-of-way issues, and persistent vandalism and theft of telecommunications infrastructure,” the regulator said.

“These realities affect both the pace of expansion and the quality of service delivery.”

Broadband subscriptions in the country rose to 109.6 million in December 2025, up from 96.3 million in December 2024.

While network performance is not yet uniform across all areas, the commission noted significant improvements over the year.

Median 4G mobile download speeds climbed by roughly 24 percent, from about 16 megabits per second to 20 Mbps, while average 4G speeds increased 18 percent, rising from around 28 Mbps to 33 Mbps.

The agency noted that 4G continues to dominate broadband in Nigeria, representing roughly 52 percent of mobile connections and reflecting the typical experience of most users.

“This expansion was underpinned by stronger network foundations, with 4G population coverage consolidating at about 85 per cent and 5G expanding to roughly 13 per cent of the population and continuing to grow,” the NCC added.

“Together, these gains mark steady progress and set the stage for rising digital use and higher expectations for network performance and reliability.”