Nigerians Spend Estimated N3.67trn on Internet Data in 6 Months
- NCC figures show Nigerians consumed 8.52 million terabytes of internet data between January and June 2026, compared with 5.96 million TB in H1 2025
- MTN Nigeria posted N1.699 trillion in data revenue for H1 2026, while Airtel Africa reported 27.2% growth in data revenue in constant-currency terms
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Nigerians spent an estimated N3.67 trillion on internet data in the first half of 2026, according to calculations based on consumption data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and an average benchmark price of N431 per gigabyte (GB).
The figure represents a 43% increase from an estimated N2.57 trillion spent during the same period in 2025, meaning Nigerians spent approximately N1.10 trillion more on data year-on-year.
Source: Getty Images
NCC data shows that Nigerians consumed 8.52 million terabytes (TB) of internet data between January and June 2026, compared with 5.96 million TB in H1 2025.
Since 1 TB equals 1,000 GB, the 8.52 million TB consumed in H1 2026 translates to approximately 8.52 billion GB. Applying the N431-per-GB benchmark produces the N3.67 trillion estimate, BusinessDay reports.
Data consumption climbs month by month
Monthly data consumption increased throughout the period, rising from 1.39 million TB in January to 1.53 million TB in June 2026.
The June figure alone was 46.7% higher than the 1.04 million TB recorded in June 2025.
Broadband subscriptions climbed from 115.04 million in January to 123.11 million in June, pushing broadband usage from 53.07% to 56.79%.
Total telecommunications subscriptions also rose from 182.23 million to 192.23 million, while teledensity increased from 84.06% to 88.67% over the same period.
Source: Getty Images
4G and 5G gain ground
The increase in data consumption has coincided with a gradual migration to faster network technologies.
In June 2026, 4G accounted for 54.31% of the mobile-generation market, up from 53.41% in January.
5G also increased from 3.94% to 4.61% during the period.
Older network technologies lost ground, with 2G declining from 36.97% to 36.22%, while 3G fell from 5.67% to 4.86%.
The increase in data demand has also supported the revenue growth of major telecommunications operators.
MTN Nigeria recorded N1.699 trillion in data revenue during H1 2026, representing a 38.4% increase from N1.229 trillion in the same period of 2025.
Network data traffic on MTN’s infrastructure increased by 25.8%, while average data usage per subscriber rose 15.2% to 14.8GB.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola identified rising data demand, home broadband and enterprise digitalisation as key growth drivers for the company.
Airtel Africa also reported a 27.2% increase in data revenue in constant-currency terms for the quarter ended June 2026, while its data customer base expanded by 15.5%.
In Nigeria, Airtel’s subscriber base increased from 62.04 million in January to 66.12 million in June.
Globacom also recorded subscriber growth, with its customer base rising from 22.46 million to 23.68 million during the same period.
NCC licenses 46 new telecom companies
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced it has granted 46 Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licenses to bolster competition in the Nigerian telecommunications landscape.
The announcement was made at the MVNO Business Rules Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum in Abuja.
He added that the NCC will continue to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.
Source: Legit.ng
