In January 2025, Nigeria achieved a significant milestone in its digital landscape as internet consumption surpassed 1 million terabytes for the first time since the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) began monitoring data usage in January 2023. This remarkable achievement underscores the country’s growing dependence on digital connectivity and the escalating demand for internet services among its population.
However, despite reaching this historic benchmark, the total data consumption for January 2025 was recorded at 27,475 terabytes, representing a notable decline from the 94,502 terabytes consumed in December 2024. The measurement of internet consumption in terabytes (TB) reflects the volume of data transmitted or received over a network, with 1 terabyte equating to 1,000 gigabytes (GB) or 1,000,000 megabytes (MB). This metric is commonly utilized by telecommunications providers to monitor high data usage, particularly among businesses, streaming services, and gamers.
The decline in monthly data consumption may indicate potential challenges for telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, both of which recently implemented a 50% increase in data tariffs. The rise in prices could deter users from consuming data at previous levels, which may adversely affect revenue growth for these companies.
Despite the drop in overall data consumption, MTN and Airtel reported substantial gains in their internet subscriber bases in January 2025. MTN added 1.4 million new users, bringing its total internet subscriber count to an impressive 73.7 million. Airtel also experienced growth, gaining 1.08 million subscribers to reach a total of 48.4 million.
Conversely, Globacom continues to face difficulties following a regulatory audit in April 2024, which resulted in a significant reduction in its subscriber base. In January 2025, Globacom managed to add only 313,939 users, while 9mobile did not gain any new subscribers at all. This disparity in subscriber growth highlights the competitive landscape of Nigeria’s telecommunications market and the varying challenges faced by different operators.
