Nigeria’s active telecom lines hit 200m as 5G share crosses 5%

…As Internet data usage falls to 1.73 terabytes in September

By Juliet Umeh

Nigeria’s active telecommunications subscriptions rose to 200.3 million in September, crossing the 200 million mark for the first time since the NIN-SIM enforcement exercise led to mass line disconnections in 2024.

Latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, showed that active lines increased by about 2.9 million, from 197.4 million in August.

The September figure of 200,337,097 subscriptions was up from 197,416,694 in August. Teledensity rose to 92.41 per cent from 91.07 per cent.

The NCC defines teledensity as the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants. It measures subscriptions rather than unique users, as one person may have more than one line.

The data showed that 4G remained the largest share of mobile connections at 54.37 per cent in September. 2G accounted for 36.42 per cent, while 3G made up 4.16 per cent. 5G’s share increased to 5.05 per cent from 4.92 per cent in August.

Internet subscriptions also grew, rising to 160.9 million from 158.5 million in August.

Broadband subscriptions increased to 128 million in September from 126.2 million the previous month, while broadband penetration rose to 59.05 per cent from 58.22 per cent.

However, total internet data usage declined to 1.73 million terabytes in September from 1.76 million terabytes in August.

Mobile number porting increased during the month, with 1,603 subscribers switching networks, compared with 1,111 in August. MTN recorded 854 incoming ports, Airtel 580, Globacom 165 and Vitel four. T2 recorded none.

The figures also showed that the telecommunications industry’s contribution to gross domestic product, GDP, rose to 9.72 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 from 9.19 per cent in the first quarter.

Fixed broadband infrastructure expanded, with Fibre to the X (FTTX) subscriptions rising to 401,666 in the third quarter from 319,735 in the second quarter. The NCC’s FTTX category covers fibre connections to homes, offices, streets, hubs and other locations, including subscriptions from internet service providers and fixed or private network operators.