IHS Towers controls over 60% of Nigeria’s collocated telecom towers

Key takeaways

  • IHS Towers is the largest tower infrastructure provider in Nigeria, with 18,925 towers in 2023.
  • IHS Towers controls 62.3% of the collocated telecom towers in the country.
  • ATC Nigeria follows, operating 8,270 towers, significantly behind IHS Towers.
  • Other players include Africa Mobile Networks (1,326 towers) and smaller firms (1,852 towers).
  • The Nigerian tower market is highly consolidated, with IHS and American Tower Corporation dominating the space.

Nigeria’s telecom infrastructure landscape is dominated by IHS Towers, which owns over 60% of the country’s collocated towers, reinforcing its leading position. With nearly 19,000 towers, IHS outpaces its closest competitor, ATC Nigeria, which operates just over 8,000 towers. Smaller players like Africa Mobile Networks and others have a relatively minor presence.

This data highlights the consolidated nature of Nigeria’s telecom tower industry, where just two companies control the vast majority of infrastructure, a key factor influencing network coverage and investment in the sector.

Source:

Nigerian Communications Commission

Period:

2023
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Tags
Related Insights

Samsung leads Ghana’s smartphone market with 26.4% share, followed by Tecno (17.7%) and Apple (17.4%)
  • Samsung dominates with 26.42% of Ghana’s smartphone market, making it the clear leader.
  • Tecno (17.7%) and Apple (17.4%) are in a tight race for second place, separated by just 0.3 percentage points.
  • Infinix (10.5%) and Itel (5.2%) highlight the strong presence of Transsion Holdings brands in Ghana.
  • Global giants like Huawei (6.8%) and Xiaomi (2.5%) lag behind, showing Ghana’s preference for budget-friendly African-focused brands.

Samsung commands over half of South Africa’s smartphone market at 51.5% as of July 2025
  • Samsung controls more than half of the South African smartphone market, more than all other brands combined.
  • Apple holds 17.61%, less than half of Samsung’s share, but remains the clear premium alternative.
  • Despite global challenges, Huawei captures 10.03%, placing third in the market.
  • Honor, Xiaomi, and Oppo collectively hold approximately 11.6%, while smaller brands like Tecno, Itel, and Nokia struggle below 2% each.

From Etisalat to 9mobile to T2: How debt, ownership battles, and weak investment crashed a telecom giant from 23M to 2M subscribers
  • Subscriptions peaked at 23.5 million in 2015 before a long decline.
  • The 2017 debt crisis and Etisalat UAE’s exit triggered sustained losses.
  • By mid-2025, active lines had plunged to 2.4 million, the steepest fall in the sector.
  • In August 2025, the firm rebranded as T2, unveiling a new plan to stabilise and grow again

9mobile’s half-year net porting loss jumped from over 5,100 in 2021 to nearly 28,800 in 2024
  • From H2 2013 to H1 2020, 9mobile gained more subscribers from other networks than it lost.
  • From H2 2021 onward, more subscribers left 9mobile for other networks than joined.
  • Net half-year losses grew from about 5,143 in H2 2021 to 28,735 in H2 2024.
  • Outgoing ports peaked at 28,885 in H2 2024, the highest half-year total on record.

Average monthly data use in Nigeria now exceeds 7GB per active internet subscription
  • Per-user data usage more than doubled in 29 months.
  • The surge [was] driven by heavier usage, not more users.
  • February dips and year-end spikes show seasonal habits.
  • 2024 marked a lasting shift to higher monthly data use.
 

Starlink is becoming more affordable in Africa, with monthly plans in Zimbabwe, Ghana and Kenya costing less than half of traditional internet providers
  • Starlink is cheaper than traditional ISPs in five out of the twelve African countries analysed.
  • Zimbabwe has the widest price gap, with traditional ISPs costing over 21 times more than Starlink.
  • Nigeria currently offers the cheapest traditional ISP plan at $9.59, undercutting Starlink’s price by a wide margin.
  • In Ghana and Kenya, Starlink’s monthly subscription is less than half the cost of the leading ISPs.
  • Only slight differences exist between Starlink and traditional ISP prices in Zambia and Botswana, indicating near-parity.
  • Mozambique and Cape Verde have moderate Starlink price advantages, suggesting potential for market competition.

POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form

A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved