Nigerians Cut Back on Internet Use After Telecom 50% Tariff Hike

• Nigeria's telecoms sector saw a significant drop in internet users following a 50% tariff hike on voice, data, and SMS services in January 2025
• Data consumption also fell by 12% in February but showed a modest rebound in March, although it remained below January's peak
• Despite these challenges, the sector experienced growth in active phone lines, with 3.39 million new users and continued dominance from MTN

Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology, Banking and the Economy.

Nigeria's telecommunications industry experienced a significant drop in internet users following a 50% increase in tariffs for voice, data, and SMS services introduced in January 2025.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reported these changes in its industry data on its website.

Internet users decline

According to the statistics, the sector lost nearly one million internet users in February, with the total number falling from 142.16 million to 141.25 million.

While a small recovery was noted in March, with the figure rising to 142.05 million, data consumption patterns within the sector were considerably affected.

The NCC's data revealed a 12% decrease in monthly data usage in February, dropping from January’s record high of one exabyte to 893.06 petabytes.

However, a modest rebound was observed in March, with data consumption increasing by 11.5% to reach 995.88 petabytes.

Despite this slight recovery, the report indicated that consumption remained slightly below the January peak, suggesting that users were still adjusting their habits in response to the tariff hike.

Telephone users' growth

The telecommunications sector in Nigeria showed resilience in several areas, with operators adding 3.39 million new phone users between January and March.

This growth boosted the total number of active lines from 169.32 million to 172.71 million, resulting in an increase in Nigeria’s teledensity from 78.10% to 79.67% during the same period.

In terms of market share, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) continued to dominate the internet market.

MTN Nigeria led with 75.62 million users, followed by Airtel Nigeria with 48.8 million, Globacom with 15.37 million, and 9mobile with 1.75 million. MTN also maintained its lead in active telephone lines, with 90.5 million subscribers, holding a 52.48% market share.

Airtel followed with 58.3 million users (33.78%), Globacom with 20.7 million (12%), and 9mobile with 2.9 million (1.72%).

The latest statistics highlight the challenges the Nigerian telecom sector faces, as operators balance economic pressures with shifting consumer trends.

MTN gained the most customers from porting

The NCC report highlighted that Nigeria’s fourth mobile network operator, 9mobile, continued to see a decline in its subscriber base, with 5809 customers porting out of its network in both February and March.

The report indicated that other operators experienced relatively low outgoing porting numbers in comparison to 9mobile.

Specifically, MTN lost 647 customers, Airtel had 695 outgoing portings, and Globacom recorded 771, while 9mobile’s losses totalled 5808 across the two months.

Regarding incoming porting, MTN saw the highest influx of subscribers, gaining 4855 new customers from other networks in February and March.

Airtel followed with 2084 incoming portings, and Globacom attracted 1007 new customers.

Meanwhile, 9mobile recorded just three incoming portings over the same period.

The report from the NCC revealed that a total of 7922 subscribers switched networks in February and March.

NCC addresses data depletion complaints

In a related development, Legit.ng reported that the NCC has denied claims of rapid data depletion on mobile networks in Nigeria.

This follows subscriber accusations that telecom operators had reduced the value of data packages available to customers.

The commission clarified that an audit carried out in the third quarter of 2024 found no proof to substantiate these claims.

Source: Legit.ng