Nigeria’s active mobile telephone line subscriptions for year 2025 recorded a 7.62per cent growth rate, which further signposts a strong growth pattern for the country’s telecommunications sector, according to statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, the apex regulator for the industry.

Details of the figures published on the Commission’s website indicate that approximately 13million new subscribers were recorded within the review period, as active mobile subscriptions rose from 169.3million as at January 2025 to 182.2 million in January 2026, which represents a 7.62per cent growth rate

The figures further indicate that the country’s teledensity, which measures access to telephone services. also grew substantially during the period under review, rising from 78.10 per cent to 84.06 per cent year-on-year, reflecting broader access to telecommunications services nationwide.

Details of the statistics show that MTN Nigeria retained its dominant position with 94.2 million subscribers, accounting for 51.78 per cent of the total market share.

The report further highlights an ongoing shift from legacy network technologies to faster broadband services. Fourth-generation (4G) networks now account for 53.41 per cent of total subscriptions, up from 47.23 per cent in January 2025.

It was further gathered that data consumption also rose sharply within the period, with total internet usage increasing from 1,000,930.60 terabytes in the previous year to 1,385,536.04 terabytes in January 2026. The sharp increase has been attributed to the increasing reliance on digital services such as video streaming, remote work platforms and social media.

Experts believe that the increasing rate of mobile phone subscriptions and data usage reflects the country’s acceleration in digital transformation. They also believe that the growing investments in broadband infrastructure and increased adoption of high-speed connectivity have helped in no small measures to boost confidence and user experience.

The development further reinforces the position of Nigeria’s telecoms sector as a crucial enabler of economic growth and digital inclusion.