Nigeria's telecommunications sector experienced a notable downturn in internet users following a 50% increase in tariffs for voice, data, and SMS services, which was implemented in January 2025. This tariff hike significantly impacted data consumption patterns and subscriber behavior, as reported by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

According to NCC data, the sector witnessed a decline of nearly one million internet users in February, with the total number of users falling from 142.16 million to 141.25 million. Although there was a slight recovery in March, with the figure rising to 142.05 million, data consumption was significantly affected. Monthly data usage decreased by 12% in February, dropping from January’s high of one exabyte to 893.06 petabytes. In March, data consumption increased by 11.5% to reach 995.88 petabytes, yet consumption remained slightly below the January peak, indicating that users were adjusting their habits in response to the higher tariffs.

Despite the challenges in internet usage and data consumption, the Nigerian telecommunications sector demonstrated resilience by adding 3.39 million new phone users between January and March. This growth increased the total number of active lines from 169.32 million to 172.71 million, resulting in a rise in Nigeria’s teledensity from 78.10% to 79.67% during the same period.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) continued to dominate the market. MTN Nigeria led with 75.62 million internet users and 90.5 million active telephone line subscribers, holding a 52.48% market share. Airtel Nigeria followed with 48.8 million internet users and 58.3 million active telephone line subscribers, accounting for 33.78% of the market. Globacom had 15.37 million internet users and 20.7 million active telephone lines (12%), while 9mobile recorded 1.75 million internet users and 2.9 million active telephone lines (1.72%).

The NCC report also highlighted the challenges faced by 9mobile, which experienced a significant decline in its subscriber base. In February and March, 9mobile saw 5809 customers port out of its network. In comparison, MTN lost 647 customers, Airtel had 695 outgoing portings, and Globacom recorded 771. Regarding incoming porting, MTN gained the most subscribers, attracting 4855 new customers, followed by Airtel with 2084, and Globacom with 1007. 9mobile recorded only three incoming portings during this period. Overall, 7922 subscribers switched networks in February and March.

In a related development, the NCC addressed subscriber complaints about rapid data depletion, denying claims that telecom operators had reduced the value of data packages. The commission stated that an audit in the third quarter of 2024 found no evidence to support these claims.