Abuja, Nigeria – Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has staged a strong recovery, with active mobile subscriptions climbing to 169.3 million in January 2025, up from 164.9 million in December 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The NCC, in its latest industry statistics, reported that the surge followed a period of decline, which saw subscriptions drop to 154.9 million in September 2024. The downturn was primarily driven by the mass deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in February 2024 and a sector-wide rebasing exercise in September.

However, the industry has since regained momentum, with subscriptions increasing steadily—first to 164.9 million in December 2024 and now reaching a record 169.3 million in January 2025.

MTN and Airtel Lead Growth

The report highlighted that the growth was driven primarily by MTN Nigeria and Airtel, both of which expanded their subscriber base. This increase also boosted Nigeria’s teledensity—the measure of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants—to 78.10% in January, up from 76.08% in December.

Market share breakdown:

• MTN Nigeria solidified its dominance, growing its subscriber base to 87.5 million (51.7%), up from 84.6 million in December 2024.
• Airtel Nigeria also showed resilience, expanding to 57.6 million subscribers (34.1%), up from 56.6 million the previous month.
• Globacom exhibited signs of recovery, growing from 20.1 million to 20.5 million subscribers in January.
• 9mobile continued its downward trajectory, maintaining 3.2 million subscribers for three consecutive months, far below its peak of 23.4 million in 2015.

Mobile Number Portability Soars

The NCC’s data also showed a sharp increase in mobile number portability (MNP) activities in January 2025. A total of 8,708 subscribers switched networks during the month, compared to just 2,998 in December 2024—a rise of 5,710 porting activities.

Among the major porting trends:

• 9mobile suffered the highest losses, with 6,716 customers leaving its network.
• MTN lost 1,188 customers, Airtel saw 399 exits, while Globacom recorded 405 outgoing ports.
• On the other hand, MTN gained the most incoming subscribers (5,551), followed by Airtel (2,414) and Globacom (736).
• 9mobile only gained seven new subscribers through porting, further emphasizing its struggle in retaining customers.

Industry Outlook

The recent surge in active mobile subscriptions and increased porting activity indicate renewed confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector. Analysts believe that with continued regulatory oversight and market adjustments, the industry is poised for further expansion in 2025.