Nigeria got 1.6 million new active internet subscribers in October 2025

According to the latest industry data update by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria has a total of 142,004,662 internet subscribers as of October 2025. This implies that the country added 1,645,841 subscribers in October, up from the 140,358,821 subscribers in September.

The report showed that mobile internet subscribers (Mobile GSM) continued to lead the lot with 142,004,662 subscribers. This is followed by subscribers that access the internet through wired/wireless services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), with 313,713 subscribers. Following closely is the number of subscribers who access the internet through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), with 239,672. Fixed wired services users have the least number of subscribers, with 73,778.

A closer analysis of the GSM lot showed that MTN Nigeria accounted for the majority of Nigeria’s mobile internet subscribers with 78,149,569 (about 60%). This is a 908,798 increase from the total of 77,240,771 that it had in September.

Airtel Nigeria held its position as the second largest telco in the country with 49,270,318. This is a 581,324 increase from the total of 48,688,994 that it had in September. Globacom came third with a total of 13,829,813. This is a 144,801 increase from the total of 13,685,012 that it had in September.

T2 (previously 9Mobile) is experiencing a sustained recovery as it gained 10,918 to rise to a total of 754,962. The beleaguered brand has witnessed a subscriber churn since 2023. Once a fast-growing challenger in Nigeria’s telecom market, 9mobile has struggled with persistent network issues, debt, and ownership disputes, leading to a significant loss of subscribers.

T2 lost 132,0489 between January and September 2025 alone. The downward trend was just overturned into a growth trajectory in September.

This is mostly owing to 9mobile‘s recent National Roaming agreement with MTN Nigeria, following an approval from the NCC. The National Roaming deal allows 9mobile subscribers to access MTN’s extensive network infrastructure for calls, SMS, and data services in regions where 9mobile’s coverage is limited or unavailable.

By leveraging MTN’s infrastructure, 9mobile has expanded coverage at minimal cost, reducing capital expenditure and making the telecom sector more attractive to investors.

Nigeria’s 49% internet penetration mark

Overall, the report indicates that broadband penetration reached a peak of 49.89 per cent in October 2025. This is 55%up from 49.34 per cent recorded in September 2025. Although this is the highest mark the country has attained, it is still far from Nigeria’s broadband target of 70 per cent by December 2025.

This is coming on the heels of a recent announcement by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, that Nigeria is in talks with investors from Denmark to invest in its 90,000km fibre optic project.

Launched three months ago, Project Bridge, an ambitious initiative by the ministry to deploy a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network across the country. The project operates under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). This public-private partnership (PPP) model ensures efficient governance and accountability.

Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, while unveiling the project’s high-level technical design in Lagos, described it as the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure endeavour yet.

The Nigerian government will hold a minority stake, between 25% and 49%. Private sector companies and development finance institutions (DFIs) like the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) will fund the rest.

The estimated cost is $2 billion. Over half of it is projected to be secured through sovereign loans, and the other half from private investments. This structure mirrors successful Nigerian PPPs like NIBSS and NLNG.

The project’s design is robust and scalable. It features seven regional backbone rings connecting Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: Lagos, South West, South South, South East, North Central, North East, and North West. The rings ensure redundancy, minimise latency, and enable seamless data flow nationwide.

Additionally, 37 metropolitan networks will link all 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). This architecture supports both large and small Internet Service Providers (ISPs). It encourages competition and infrastructure sharing to accelerate broadband expansion.

The project will expand Nigeria’s existing 35,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to a total of 125,000 kilometres. This will make Nigeria’s fibre backbone the third largest in Africa, trailing only Egypt and South Africa.

The initiative is expected to create 20,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs. It will also train 5,000 Nigerian youths through the Digital Bridge Institute, enhancing skills for network maintenance. Additionally, over 200,000 educational, healthcare, and social institutions will gain internet access, addressing the connectivity gap for 33 million offline Nigerians.

Experts estimate it could increase Nigeria’s GDP by 1.5% per capita, raising it from $472.6 billion to about $502 billion within four years.