Nigeria’s two largest telecommunications operators, Airtel Nigeria and MTN Nigeria, have generated more than N3.6 trillion in data revenue in 2025, reflecting Nigerians’ rapidly growing appetite for internet services.
In its financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Airtel Nigeria reported N838.6 billion ($560 million) in data revenue. This represents a 67.4% increase compared with N500.8 billion ($344 million) recorded during the same period in 2024.
The telecom operator attributed the surge to rising smartphone adoption and increasing data usage among subscribers.
According to the report, average data usage per Airtel customer rose by 26.2%, climbing to 10.7GB per month, up from 8.4GB in the previous year. Smartphone penetration on the network also improved, increasing 4.6 percentage points to 54.1%.
Among smartphone users specifically, average monthly data consumption reached 13.4GB, compared with 11.2GB in the previous period.
Similarly, MTN Nigeria recorded even stronger growth in its data segment. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the company generated N2.8 trillion in data revenue, representing a 74.5% increase from the N1.6 trillion reported in 2024.
The company disclosed that data traffic on its network grew by 34%, while average usage per subscriber rose by 20% to 13.1GB during the year.
Commenting on the growth, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said the figures highlight the country’s strong demand for internet connectivity.
“The structural demand for data in Nigeria was demonstrated by the 34% increase in data traffic on our network, which underpinned our strong service revenue growth during the period,” he said.
Data services have overtaken voice calls as the primary revenue driver for telecom operators in recent years, and the gap continues to widen. The latest financial reports from both companies show that data revenue is growing significantly faster than voice, driven by rising internet usage across the country.
While the 50% tariff increase introduced by telecom operators in 2024 helped boost earnings, industry figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also point to a steady and sustained increase in data consumption among Nigerians throughout 2025.
Statistics from the NCC show that monthly data usage climbed steadily throughout 2025.
In May 2025, Nigerians consumed 1.04 million terabytes of data, the highest monthly record since the regulator began publishing consumption figures in January 2023. Usage continued to rise throughout the year, eventually reaching 1.38 million terabytes in December 2025, setting a new record.
Industry analysts attribute the surge in data demand to the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
The surge in data demand is also pushing telecom operators to invest heavily in network expansion and capacity upgrades.
MTN Nigeria disclosed that it invested N1 trillion in network infrastructure in 2025, more than double its capital expenditure in the previous year. The company plans to increase investment further in 2026 to keep pace with growing data demand.
Airtel Nigeria is expanding its infrastructure footprint nationwide. Speaking during a media roundtable recently, Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh said the company is intensifying the rollout of fibre infrastructure across major cities and states.
“We have invested with discipline and clarity over the past two years to strengthen our network nationwide,” Balsingh said.
“These investments are already translating into measurable improvements in performance, customer experience, and coverage, including in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.”
He added that network upgrades will accelerate further in 2026 as Nigeria’s digital economy continues to expand, noting that long-term planning and sustained infrastructure investment will determine future leadership in the telecom sector.