Nigeria’s two largest mobile operators, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, generated more than N3.6 trillion in data revenue in 2025, underscoring how central internet access has become to everyday life, business activity, and digital commerce in the country.
The latest financial disclosures show that data is no longer just a fast-growing segment of telecom income; it is now the dominant growth engine, widening the gap with traditional voice revenue.
The numbers are striking. MTN Nigeria reported N2.8 trillion in data revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025, a 74.5% jump from N1.6 trillion in 2024. Airtel Nigeria, in its nine months to December 31, 2025, posted N838.6 billion in data revenue, up 67.4% from N500.8 billion in the comparable period a year earlier.
Put together, the two operators generated over N3.6 trillion from data alone, a figure that captures both the scale of demand and the growing commercial power of mobile internet in Nigeria.
Data demand stayed strong even after higher tariffs
What makes the surge more notable is that it happened in a year when telecom pricing became more expensive. The Nigerian Communications Commission approved a 50% increase in the cost of calls, data and SMS on January 20, 2025, yet usage still climbed.
The average cost of 1GB of data moved from N287.50 to N431.25, while advertised rates placed the average closer to N587.50. Despite that increase, Nigerians continued to consume more internet, suggesting that data has shifted from optional spending to something much closer to a basic necessity.
Industry-wide consumption figures support that point. NCC data shows Nigerians consumed 1.04 million terabytes in May 2025, which was already a record high at the time, before climbing further to 1.38 million terabytes by December 2025. That steady upward trend indicates the market absorbed the tariff increase without a meaningful slowdown in demand.
MTN and Airtel saw deeper usage, not just higher prices
The story is not only about tariff adjustments. The operators’ internal usage metrics show that customer behaviour itself is changing. MTN said its data traffic rose 34%, while average usage per subscriber increased 20% to 13.1GB for the year. Airtel also recorded heavier usage patterns, with data usage per customer rising 26.2% to 10.7GB per month, while smartphone penetration reached 54.1%. Airtel added that usage among smartphone customers hit 13.4GB per month, up from 11.2GB in the prior period.
Those figures matter because they show the revenue growth is being driven by both pricing and volume. Nigerians are not simply paying more for the same activity; they are spending more time online, consuming more video, using more apps, and depending more heavily on mobile connectivity for work, entertainment and side income.
Why Nigerians are burning through more data
Behind the revenue boom is a larger shift in the Nigerian economy and social landscape. Rising data consumption is driven by the expansion of the digital economy, where more people are turning to the internet for income opportunities, audience growth, and commercial visibility. Social media video creation, short-form content, livestreams, gaming and remote work tools are all putting pressure on monthly data budgets.
That trend fits what is already visible across Nigeria’s urban and semi-urban markets. A growing number of people now rely on internet access not only for messaging and browsing, but for TikTok clips, Instagram Reels, content monetisation, virtual meetings, digital marketing, online retail, and customer engagement. In practical terms, data has become the fuel for both leisure and livelihood.
Big revenue also means bigger investment pressure
For the telcos, the upside comes with a cost. More subscribers, heavier usage, and rising traffic all require deeper investment in network capacity, fibre rollout and service quality. MTN said it invested N1 trillion in network capacity in 2025, more than doubling its capital expenditure from the prior year. Airtel, meanwhile, said it is intensifying fibre deployment across cities and states, with further expansion planned within urban centres and between states.
That part of the story is crucial. If demand continues to rise at this pace, operators will have to keep spending aggressively to avoid congestion, poor user experience and coverage gaps. In effect, the Nigerian telecom market is entering a new cycle in which revenue growth must be matched by infrastructure growth.