Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has made a remarkable comeback, with active mobile subscriptions rising to 169.3 million in January 2025, up from 164.9 million in December 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This growth follows a sharp decline in September 2024, when total subscriptions fell to 154.9 million due to the mass deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in February 2024 and a sector-wide rebasing. The latest data reflects renewed consumer confidence and increasing mobile penetration.
The NCC attributes the sector’s resurgence to the strong performance of MTN Nigeria and Airtel, which recorded notable subscriber gains. MTN solidified its dominance by increasing its market share to 51.7%, reaching 87.5 million subscribers in January 2025, up from 84.6 million the previous month. Airtel followed closely, expanding its subscriber base to 57.6 million, capturing 34.1% of the market. This momentum also pushed Nigeria’s teledensity to 78.10%, an increase from 76.08% in December 2024, reflecting deeper mobile penetration across the country.
After experiencing a decline in 2024 due to a regulatory audit, Globacom is now showing signs of recovery, growing its subscriber base from 20.1 million in December 2024 to 20.5 million in January 2025. However, 9mobile continues to struggle, maintaining a stagnant subscriber base of 3.2 million for three consecutive months. Once a major player with 23.4 million subscribers in 2015, its market share has significantly declined.
The NCC also reported a sharp rise in mobile number portability activities, with 8,708 subscribers switching networks in January 2025, a 5710 increase compared to December 2024’s 2,998 porting activities. 9mobile saw the highest number of customers leaving its network, with 6,716 subscribers porting out, while MTN gained the most new customers, adding 5,551 subscribers.
The strong recovery in Nigeria’s telecom sector highlights the growing demand for mobile connectivity and competition among providers. With MTN and Airtel driving growth, Globacom stabilizing, and 9mobile struggling to retain customers, the industry remains dynamic, with service quality and innovation emerging as key factors for sustained success.
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