Nigeria’s appetite for internet data continues to defy expectations with usage levels hitting record highs despite a 50 percent hike in telecom tariffs approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) earlier this year.
According to new industry data, average data consumption per subscriber surged by 30.91 percent year-on-year to reach 9.86GB in May 2025, up from 7.37GB recorded in May 2024.
Total internet traffic climbed to an all-time high of 1,043,431.98 terabytes in the same month, compared to 771,993.56 terabytes a year earlier.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola described the country’s growing data appetite as “exceptional” and confirmed that the telecom giant is strategically positioning itself to harness the opportunities emerging from this sustained demand.
“We are positioning ourselves to capture the opportunities of growth for the next 10 years,” Toriola said.
According to him, digital services adoption will continue to expand on the back of deeper smartphone penetration and the rapid evolution of Nigeria’s mobile ecosystem.
The NCC’s tariff revision, which came into effect in January, increased the floor price for calls from ₦6.40 to ₦9.60 per minute, SMS from ₦4 to ₦6 per message, and the cost of 1GB of data from ₦287.50 to ₦431.25.
Despite initial concerns from market analysts that higher prices could dampen demand, recent figures show that many consumers have adapted their spending patterns to maintain connectivity.
Some subscribers shifted to smaller or more flexible data plans to manage costs while sustaining usage.
Eniola Ogunleye, a Nigerian mobile user, noted that her monthly spending pattern changed after the price adjustment.
“Data cost jumped in February, and I had to revert to weekly plans because the monthly options were too expensive. I eventually found a plan for over 100GB at ₦18,000 per month and have stuck with it,” she said.
The resilience in demand has been underpinned by continued growth in smartphone adoption. By May 2025, 3G, 4G and 5G connections made up over 61 percent of the country’s 172.67 million mobile lines, up from 55 percent in the same period last year.
The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) reported that smartphone penetration has reached 59 percent in urban areas and 26 percent in rural parts of Nigeria.
Ericsson’s Mobility Report projects that subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa will hit 890 million by 2030, with 40 percent expected to be 5G connections, reflecting a sharp rise in data-hungry activities like streaming, social media, and online communications.
A recent GSMA survey shows that 85 percent of Nigerians now rely on mobile internet for video calls, 75 percent for watching online videos, and 54 percent for streaming free music.
Industry experts believe this trend will continue to boost revenues for telecom operators while placing pressure on network providers to expand capacity and invest in infrastructure upgrades to maintain quality of service.
