Nigeria's digital landscape continues to expand at an impressive pace, with the latest statistics for July 2019 from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) highlighting significant growth in internet and broadband penetration. The month saw an addition of 773,449 new broadband subscribers, pushing the total number of subscriptions to 64,366,778 and elevating the broadband penetration rate to 33.72%. Looking ahead, reports project this rate to climb to 55% by 2025, with 70% of users expected to have access to 3G connectivity and 17% to 4G networks. This forward momentum is a key driver behind the country's regulatory push for 5G services trials, even as discussions about Nigeria's readiness for the next generation of mobile internet connectivity persist.

In terms of overall telephone subscribers, the NCC's July data reveals a robust total of 174,950,011 users, reflecting a teledensity of 92%. Market leader MTN solidified its dominance, holding 37.43% of the subscriber share, which translates to 65,379,196 users. A significant shift was observed in the second-place position, where Airtel successfully displaced Globacom. Airtel now stands as the second-largest telco in Nigeria with 46,836,395 subscribers, accounting for 26.80% of the market. Globacom follows closely behind with 46,713,068 subscribers, representing 26.70%. The troubled telco, 9mobile, continued to trail the group with 15,739,967 subscribers, capturing 9% of the total market value.

Regarding internet subscribers specifically, the total reached 122,681,418 in July, marking an increase of 389,339 from the 122,292,079 recorded in June. MTN, consistent with its overall market leadership, held the largest share with 52,269,270 internet subscribers, showing a modest increase of 14,353 from its June figures. Airtel demonstrated the most substantial growth among its peers, adding 428,012 new subscribers to reach 32,403,272, thereby securing the second spot in internet subscriptions. Globacom also saw gains, adding 102,017 users to total 29,124,366 subscribers. Conversely, 9mobile continued its downward trajectory, losing 237,973 subscribers to stand at 8,801,580. Interestingly, Visafone's 82,930 subscribers were reflected within the GSM band for July, further underscoring the GSM providers' overwhelming dominance with a 99.70% market share. Other technologies like CDMA (0 subscribers), Fixed Wireless/wired (10,144 subscribers), and VoIP (377,522 subscribers) each held a marginal 0.10% market share.

Despite its consistent loss of thousands of customers, 9mobile surprisingly emerged as the top choice for porting subscribers in July, recording approximately 7,000 incoming users. This figure significantly surpassed MTN, which recorded the second-highest porting activity with only 2,150 incoming users. Airtel and Globacom registered the lowest numbers of incoming porters, with 589 and 750 respectively, indicating an intriguing dynamic where customers seeking to switch providers often opted for 9mobile, even as its overall subscriber base declined.