Nigerian telecom subscribers recorded a historic 1.5 million terabytes of data consumption in May 2026, marking the country’s highest monthly usage on record.
The milestone, according to the latest industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reflects the growing adoption of faster 4G and 5G networks, as well as increased digital content creation and consumption.
4G and 5G Adoption Drives Growth
NCC data showed that 4G users accounted for 54.30% of active internet connections in May, while 5G connections rose to 4.49%. Meanwhile, the share of 3G connections continued to decline, falling to 5.10%.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, had earlier disclosed that Nigerians were consuming about 45,800 terabytes of data daily. By May, the figure had risen to approximately 48,518 terabytes per day.
Total data consumption also increased from 1.42 million terabytes in March 2026 to 1.5 million terabytes in May, compared with about 995,000 terabytes recorded in March 2025.
The NCC attributed the sustained growth to Nigeria’s expanding digital economy, driven by digital payments, e-commerce, technology startups and increased digital literacy.
The growing popularity of content monetisation on platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and X has also contributed significantly to rising data demand.
Mobile Subscriptions Rise
Active mobile subscriptions increased from 154.3 million in April to 157 million in May 2026, with the major telecom operators recording growth.
MTN Nigeria remained the leading provider with 83.5 million internet subscriptions, followed by Airtel Nigeria with 55.8 million. Globacom recorded 16.8 million subscriptions, while T2 had 802,534.
Rising Demand Puts Pressure on Networks
The surge in data consumption has increased pressure on telecommunications infrastructure and contributed to concerns over network quality.
To improve capacity and reliability, telecom operators invested more than ₦2.5 trillion in network infrastructure in 2025, according to the NCC.
Operators have also committed to upgrading about 12,000 network sites in 2026 as they work to meet Nigeria’s rapidly growing demand for digital services.
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