Digitnomics 
Broadband penetration rises to 56.79% as data usage jumps by 28,105TB
Nigeria’s digital economy continued to expand in June 2026, with active telecommunications subscriptions rising to 192.23 million and broadband penetration reaching 56.79 per cent, according to the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Active telecom subscriptions increased by 2.56 million from 189.68 million recorded in May, pushing teledensity to 88.67 per cent.
The bigger signal from the latest figures, however, is the sharp increase in data consumption.
Internet usage rose from 1,504,067.36 terabytes in May to 1,532,172.67TB in June, representing an additional 28,105.31TB consumed within a single month.
The increase came even as the number of internet subscriptions declined marginally from 157.41 million in May to 156.86 million in June.
The divergence between subscriber numbers and data consumption points to a deeper shift in Nigeria’s digital market: existing internet users are increasingly consuming more data as smartphones, streaming, digital payments, social platforms, cloud-based services and other online activities become more embedded in everyday life.
Broadband subscriptions also increased during the month, rising from 121.64 million in May to 123.11 million in June.
As a result, broadband penetration climbed from 56.11 per cent to 56.79 per cent.
The figures indicate continued demand for faster connectivity, even as the country’s telecom market moves beyond basic voice communication towards increasingly data-intensive digital services.
MTN Nigeria remained the largest operator, with 98.64 million active subscribers and a 51.38 per cent market share.
Airtel followed with 66.12 million subscribers and 34.44 per cent market share, while Globacom recorded 23.68 million subscribers, representing 12.34 per cent.
T2 accounted for 3.54 million subscribers, representing 1.84 per cent of the market.
The technology mix also shows the continuing dominance of 4G connectivity. The technology accounted for 54.31 per cent of connections in June, followed by 2G at 36.22 per cent, 3G at 4.86 per cent and 5G at 4.61 per cent.
The continued growth in data traffic is likely to increase pressure on operators to invest in network capacity, fibre infrastructure, spectrum and newer technologies to keep pace with demand.
Airtel Africa Group Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, recently highlighted the scale of the opportunity, saying the company’s data volume growth was above 50 per cent and required continued investment in network expansion and capacity.
“Our data growth, volume growth is upwards of 50 per cent. To support this, one is coverage expansion,” Taldar said.
He noted that Africa still has considerable room for connectivity growth, with telecommunications and smartphone penetration remaining relatively low across the continent.
For Nigeria, the growing demand for connectivity has implications beyond the telecom industry.
The sector contributed 9.19 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting its growing role as infrastructure for other parts of the digital economy.
Fintech, digital banking, e-commerce, online education, entertainment, mobility and other technology-enabled services increasingly depend on reliable and affordable connectivity.
The June data therefore points to a market where the key growth story is shifting from simply adding subscribers to increasing the intensity with which Nigerians use digital services.
With data consumption rising faster than internet subscriber numbers, the next phase of Nigeria’s digital growth will increasingly depend on the capacity, affordability and quality of the networks supporting that demand.
