Telecoms Subscribers’ Growth Hits 189M as MTN Maintains Lead with 96.9M
Emma Okonji
Telecoms subscribers’ number across networks reached 189,675,650 in the month of May 2026, up from 188,009,171 in April 2026, according to the recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which THISDAY obtained from its official website.
According to the statistics, MTN alone has 96,977,835 subscribers, with a market penetration of 51.19 per cent, followed by Airtel which has 65,450,286 subscribers, with a market penetration of 34.55 per cent, and Globacom, which has 23,468,730 subscribers, with a market penetration of 12.39 per cent, while T2 has 3,538,021 subscribers, with a market penetration of 1.87 per cent.
MTN has maintained the lead position for several years across networks, after rolling out its services in Nigeria in 2001.
While unfolding activities for its 25th anniversary celebration this week in Lagos, the Chief Financial Officer at MTN Nigeria, Modupe Kadri said MTN spent N1.6 trillion in the last 18 months on network expansion, coverage, capacity building and customer experience, with a promise to further invest in network expansion in the coming years to further enhance its service quality delivery.
From the statistics released by NCC, telecoms subscriptions reached 177,426,286, with a teledensity of 81.84 per cent in November 2025, and the number further increased to 179,642,333, with a teledensity of 82.87 per cent in December 2025.
As at January 2026, telecoms subscriptions increased again to 182,225,258, with a teledensity of 84.06 per cent.
In February 2026, telecoms subscriptions further increased to 184,603,928, with a teledensity of 85.16 per cent.
In March 2026, telecoms subscriptions increased again to 185,718,018, with a teledensity of 85.67 per cent.
There was a further increase in telecoms subscriptions in April 2026 to 188,009,171, with a teledensity of 86.73 per cent, before reaching 189,675,650, with a teledensity of 87.50 per cent in May 2026.
Teledensity, according to NCC, is measured as the number of active telephone connections per one hundred inhabitants living within an area and is expressed as a percentage figure.
Giving reasons for the continuous increase in telecoms subscriptions and teledensity since November 2025, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria and spokesperson for telecoms operators in Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, attributed the continuous growth to stable telecoms operating environment, powered by regulatory excellence of the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the fair policy on tariff and investments from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Consistent with Section 89 Subsection 3(d) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003), the NCC is mandated to monitor and report on the state of the Nigerian telecommunications industry, provide statistical analyses and identify industry trends with regard to services, tariffs, operators, technology, subscribers, issues of competition and dominance, with a view to identifying areas where regulatory intervention would be needed.
In view of this, NCC regularly conducts studies and surveys and produces reports on the telecommunications industry, and telecommunications operators are obligated, under the terms of the licenses, to provide the NCC with such data on a regular basis for analytical review and publishing on its website.
