The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says monthly mobile data usage grew by about 140 percent, rising from roughly 518,000 terabytes to over 1.23 million terabytes between January 2023 and November 2025.
In its new year greeting, the NCC cautioned that growing demand is putting further strain on networks.
The commission observed that many consumers continue to face variable service quality, congestion in congested areas, outages due to power failures and infrastructure damage, and sluggish complaint processing.
“Operators, in turn, continue to face deep-rooted challenges, including rising operating costs, energy and logistics constraints, right-of-way issues, and persistent vandalism and theft of telecommunications infrastructure,” the regulator said.
“These realities affect both the pace of expansion and the quality of service delivery.”
In addition, the country’s broadband subscribers climbed to 109.6 million in December 2025, up from 96.3 million in December 2024.
According to the NCC, increasing investment impetus and expanded network deployment produced considerable development in the industry.
“Over the year, operators deployed over 2,800 new and upgraded sites, strengthening both coverage and capacity nationwide,” the commission said.
“As a result, broadband subscriptions grew by 6% from about 96.3 million to over 109.6 million from December 2024 to December 2025, lifting broadband penetration from 44.43% to 50.58% today.”
While network performance is not yet perfect in all regions, the commission reported significant gains over the past year.
According to the NCC, median 4G mobile download speeds climbed by nearly 24 percent, from 16 to 20 megabits per second (Mbps), while average 4G download speeds jumped by 18 percent, from 28 to 33 Mbps.
According to the organisation, 4G remains the leading broadband technology in Nigeria, accounting for around 52% of mobile connections, providing the most accurate picture of most users’ everyday experiences.
“This expansion was underpinned by stronger network foundations, with 4G population coverage consolidating at about 85% and 5G expanding to roughly 13% of the population and continuing to grow,” the NCC added.
“Together, these gains mark steady progress and set the stage for rising digital use and higher expectations for network performance and reliability.”
Looking ahead, the NCC says Nigerians should expect improved voice quality and more consistent data performance, fewer needless service disruptions, faster restoration during outages, and swift reimbursements for failed recharges.
Other expectations from the NCC include simpler and more transparent pricing, a safer and more resilient internet economy, and sustained network growth, particularly in underserved and unserved areas.
The commission stated that its regulatory focus in 2026 would be on results that directly affect consumers, achieved through clear regulations, active monitoring, and consistent enforcement.
Concerning quality of service (QoS) and network resilience, the NCC stated that it will intensify QoS monitoring, increase significant incident reporting, and push efforts to improve network availability, particularly in high-traffic regions and persistent black spots.
“We will reinforce tariff transparency, accuracy of billing, customer care standards, and protections against misleading practices. Consumers will also see more consistent public communication during major service incidents,” the commission said.
“In 2026, we will operationalise the revised Corporate Governance Code for the communications sector, thus strengthening board and management accountability and making governance a key driver of operator performance.”
While acknowledging operators as the engine of investment and innovation, the commission said it will not hesitate to hold them accountable.
“The consumer’s experience must improve,” the NCC added.
Operators were encouraged to invest in network development and resilience, decrease unnecessary outages, simplify prices, enhance customer service, maintain the integrity of the telecom ecosystem, and fully comply with corporate governance and other regulatory duties.
The commission stated that operators should anticipate fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory regulation, increased regulatory efficiency, organised stakeholder participation, and strict enforcement in cases of chronic noncompliance.
