Globacom’s average internet subscriber base fell by almost 64% in 2025, down to 15.8 million from its 2023 peak

  • MTN remains the market leader, growing from 26 million subscribers in 2013 to 75 million by early 2025.
  • MTN's market share was 53.10% in early 2025, with over 75 million active data subscribers.
  • Airtel saw consistent growth, rising from 8.2 million in 2013 to 48.7 million in 2025, now commanding over 34% market share.
  • Globacom’s data subscriber base peaked in 2023 at 43.7 million but fell sharply by 2025 to 15.8 million.
  • 9mobile's market share in 2025 dropped to just 1.29% from its 2016 peak of 16.31%.
  • Globacom’s market share dropped significantly from its peak of 29.27% in 2017 to 11.16% in 2025.
  • Airtel doubled its market share from 18% in 2013 to 34% in 2025.
  • 9mobile's data subscriber base crashed by 88% from its 2016 peak to less than 2 million in 2025.

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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