Globacom's internet subscriber base dropped by an average of nearly 64% in 2025 to 15.8 million from its 2023 peak

Key Takeaways:

  • MTN remains the market leader, growing from an average of 26 million subscribers in 2013 to an average of 75 million by early 2025.
  • The average active data subscribers for MTN was over 75 million in early 2025.
  • Airtel saw consistent growth, rising from 8.2 million in 2013 to 48.7 million in 2025, on average.
  • Globacom’s average data subscriber base peaked in 2023 at 43.7 million but fell sharply by 2025 to 15.8 million.
  • 9mobile's average data subscriber base in 2025 dropped to just 1.8 million from its 2016 peak of 15.2 million.

Nigeria's data service industry has substantially evolved over the last decade. On average, MTN maintained its dominance, growing from 26 million in 2013 to 75 million data subscribers in 2025. Airtel is nearly quadrupling its subscriber base, positioning itself as a strong second player in the telecom internet industry.

However, Globacom’s average internet subscriber base dropped drastically from 43.7 million in 2023 to just 15.8 million by 2025, signalling major market or operational challenges. In the same vein, 9mobile's average data subscriber base continues its downward trend that started in 2016, falling to less than 2 million users in 2025.

Furthermore, the sharp decline in Globacom's subscriber base since the second quarter of 2024 has significantly affected the year's average. This drop is mainly due to the deactivation of SIM cards not linked to verified NINs and an NCC audit, which found that Globacom had substantially overstated its subscriber numbers before the SIM-NIN linkage exercise, as reported by The Guardian and BusinessDay.

Source:

Nigerian Communications Commission

Period:

2013-2025
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