The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that monthly mobile data usage rose by about 140 per cent, from roughly 518,000 terabytes to over 1.23 million terabytes between January 2023 and November 2025.
The commission made this known in its 2026 New Year message.
The commission acknowledged that many consumers still experience inconsistent service quality, congestion in busy locations, outages linked to power challenges and infrastructure damage, as well as slow complaint resolution, noting that warned that rising demand is placing increased pressure on networks.
“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.”
Also, the country’s broadband subscriptions increased to 109.6 million in December 2025, from 96.3 million in December 2024.
The NCC said renewed investment momentum and expanded network deployment drove measurable progress across the sector.
“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 optimal in all locations, the commission said notable improvements were recorded over the year.
The NCC said median 4G mobile download speeds increased by about 24 percent, rising from approximately 16 megabits per second (Mbps) to 20 Mbps, while average 4G download speeds rose by 18 percent from about 28 Mbps to 33 Mbps.
The agency noted that 4G remains the dominant broadband technology in Nigeria, accounting for about 52 percent of mobile connections, making it the clearest reflection of the everyday experience of most users.
“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.”
The NCC said Nigerians will see better voice quality and more consistent data performance, fewer avoidable service disruptions, quicker restoration during outages and prompt refunds for failed recharges.
Other expectations outlined by the NCC include simpler and more transparent tariffs, a safer and more resilient internet ecosystem, and continued network expansion, particularly in underserved and unserved communities.
The commission said its regulatory focus in 2026 will be driven by outcomes that directly affect consumers, delivered through clear rules, active monitoring and consistent enforcement.
On quality of service (QoS) and network resilience, the NCC said it will deepen QoS monitoring, strengthen major incident reporting and drive measures to improve network availability, especially in high-traffic areas 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 urged to invest in network expansion and resilience, reduce avoidable outages, simplify tariffs, improve customer care, protect the integrity of the telecom ecosystem and comply fully with corporate governance and other regulatory obligations.
The commission said operators can expect fair, transparent and non-discriminatory regulation, improved regulatory efficiency, structured stakeholder engagement and firm enforcement where there is persistent non-compliance.
