Nigeria Sees Drop In Internet Users Following Tariff Increase – NCC Report

According to an NCC report, Nigeria lost about 1 million internet users in February 2025, following a 50% tariff hike on voice, data, and SMS services, affecting data usage patterns.

Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has experienced a noticeable decline in internet users, following a 50% increase in tariffs for voice, data, and SMS services that took effect in January 2025.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shared these findings in industry statistics available on its website. The report revealed that the sector lost about one million internet users in February, with the number of users falling from 142.16 million to 141.25 million.

Although a slight recovery was seen in March, with the user base rising to 142.05 million, the overall data consumption patterns of the sector were significantly impacted. According to the NCC, there was a 12% drop in monthly data consumption in February, which decreased from 1 exabyte in January to 893.06 petabytes. However, a marginal rebound was observed in March, with data usage rising by 11.5% to 995.88 petabytes.

Despite the modest recovery, the report suggested that consumption levels remained slightly below the January peak. This indicated that subscribers were still cautious in their data usage due to the higher tariffs.

The telecommunications industry, however, showed resilience in other areas. Between January and March, telecom operators added 3.39 million new telephone users, increasing the total number of active lines from 169.32 million to 172.71 million. This growth led to an increase in Nigeria’s teledensity from 78.10% to 79.67% during the same period.

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

The latest figures highlight the challenges facing Nigeria’s telecom sector as operators face economic pressures and shifting consumer behaviors. The NCC report also noted that 9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth mobile network operator, continued to experience a decline in its subscriber base. In February and March, 5,809 customers ported out of 9mobile’s network, while other operators experienced far lower outgoing porting numbers. For example, MTN lost 647 customers, Airtel saw 695 outgoing porting, and Globacom recorded 771.

Regarding incoming porting, MTN was the biggest winner, gaining 4,856 internet users from other networks in February and March, according to the NCC report. Airtel gained 2,084 customers, while Globacom saw an increase of 1,007 subscribers. Meanwhile, 9mobile recorded only three incoming porting during the same period.

In total, 7,923 internet users switched from one network to another in February and March, according to the NCC’s report on porting activities.

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