Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has experienced a significant recovery, with active subscriptions reaching 169.3 million in January 2025, up from 164.9 million in December 2024. This rebound follows a period of decline, where subscriptions had dropped to 154.9 million in September 2024, largely due to the deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in February 2024 and a sector rebasing in September.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) attributed the recovery to key network operators, MTN and Airtel, who contributed to the increase in subscriber numbers. MTN’s market share grew to 51.7% with 87.5 million subscribers, while Airtel’s market share expanded to 34.1% with 57.6 million subscribers in January 2025.
Globacom showed signs of recovery, increasing its subscriber base from 20.1 million in December 2024 to 20.5 million in January 2025. However, 9mobile continued to struggle, experiencing a decline in its subscriber base and market share. In January 2025, 9mobile had just 3.2 million subscribers, a significant drop from its previous high of 23.4 million in 2015.
Regarding mobile number portability, 9mobile had the highest number of outgoing porting activities in January 2025, losing 6,716 subscribers. In contrast, MTN gained the most subscribers from other networks with 5,551 incoming porters. The total number of porting activities in January (8,708) was substantially higher than in December 2024 (2,998), indicating more subscriber movement across networks.
Overall, the sector’s growth has led to a rise in the country’s teledensity, reaching 78.1% in January 2025, up from 76.1% in December 2024.
