Nigeria’s active mobile telecommunications subscriptions across MTN, Airtel, Globacom and T2 surpassed the 200 million mark in September 2026, reaching their highest level since April 2024.
According to the latest industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), active mobile subscriptions increased to 200,102,038 at the end of September, representing an addition of approximately three million connections from the 197.1 million recorded in August.
The milestone marks a recovery in Nigeria’s mobile subscription base, which had fallen below 200 million following the enforcement of the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM linkage exercise in 2024. The last time subscriptions exceeded the threshold was in April 2024, before the verification exercise reduced the industry’s subscriber database to 171.8 million in May of the same year.
MTN Nigeria retained its position as the country’s largest mobile network operator, adding more than two million active subscriptions in September to close the month with approximately 104.6 million connections. The increase raised MTN’s market share to 52.3%, meaning the operator accounts for more than half of Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions.
Airtel Nigeria, the second-largest operator, also recorded growth, adding 618,660 subscriptions to reach approximately 68 million active connections. The company maintained a 34% share of the market. Globacom recorded a marginal increase in its subscriber base, rising from 23.5 million in August to 23.8 million in September. Despite the growth, the operator accounted for 11.89% of the market.
Meanwhile, T2’s subscriber base remained largely unchanged at 3.6 million for the third consecutive month, representing just 1.89% of Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions. The figures indicate that the operator has yet to record significant subscriber growth despite its recent national roaming agreement with MTN.
Nigeria also recorded an increase in active internet subscriptions across mobile, fixed and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks, which collectively reached 160.9 million in September 2026. Mobile internet subscriptions accounted for the bulk of the growth, increasing from 158 million in August to 160.4 million in September.
Fixed wireless internet connections also increased from 227,910 to 248,651 during the period. However, VoIP subscriptions declined from 226,766 in August to 223,843 in September. The NCC’s September data did not include updated figures for Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Nigeria’s telecommunications industry experienced a significant decline in reported active subscriptions in 2024 following the federal government’s enforcement of NIN-SIM verification requirements. At the end of the exercise, approximately 64.3 million mobile lines had been removed from operator networks because they had not met the required registration and verification standards.
Globacom and the former 9mobile, now operating as T2, were among the operators most affected by the exercise. Globacom’s active subscriber base fell from 62.1 million in March 2024 to 19.1 million by September 2024, representing a loss of approximately 43 million connections.
Similarly, 9mobile’s subscriber base declined from 11.6 million in March 2024 to approximately 3.6 million by September, indicating a loss of about eight million subscriptions.
The exercise significantly reduced the combined subscriber base of Nigeria’s four GSM operators, bringing it down from approximately 219 million in April 2024 to 154.6 million in September 2024.
The latest NCC figures suggest that the industry has gradually recovered from the impact of the verification exercise, with active mobile subscriptions returning above the 200 million threshold in September 2026.
