Nigeria’s internet usage jumps 94,383TB in August as data demand outpaces subscriber growth

Nigeria’s internet usage rose by 94,383 terabytes in August 2026, significantly faster than the growth in the number of internet subscribers, pointing to rising data consumption among existing users and increasing pressure on the country’s digital infrastructure.

Internet usage increased from 1,662,021.45 terabytes in July to 1,756,404.82TB in August, representing a 5.68 percent monthly increase, according to recent data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The sharp rise came as mobile GSM internet subscriptions grew by only 794,416, from 157.27 million in July to 158.07 million in August, a monthly increase of about 0.5 percent.

The divergence suggests that the immediate challenge for Nigeria’s telecom and digital infrastructure market is shifting from simply connecting new users to supporting the rapidly increasing volume of data consumed by existing users.

The development has implications for network capacity, spectrum requirements, fibre infrastructure, data centres and investment in broadband infrastructure as Nigerians increasingly rely on data-intensive digital services.

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Broadband subscriptions also continued to expand during the month, rising from 124.42 million in July to 126.22 million in August, an increase of approximately 1.79 million subscriptions.

Broadband penetration consequently increased from 57.40 percent to 58.22 percent, representing a 0.82 percentage-point improvement in one month.

The simultaneous increase in broadband penetration and data usage indicates that Nigeria’s digital economy is not only bringing more people online but is also seeing existing users consume greater volumes of internet services.

For operators, this creates a different infrastructure challenge from subscriber acquisition. More users and heavier consumption require continued investment in network capacity, backhaul, fibre and spectrum to prevent congestion and maintain service quality.

The growth in fixed internet connections provides another indication of changing connectivity demand.

Fixed internet subscriptions rose from 204,082 in July to 227,910 in August, representing an increase of 23,828 connections or 11.7 percent in a single month.

Although fixed connections remain small compared with mobile internet subscriptions, their faster rate of growth suggests increasing demand for dedicated broadband services for households, businesses and other high-volume users.

The figures also come against a highly concentrated mobile market, with MTN accounting for 102.56 million subscribers, or 52.01 percent, in August. Airtel followed with 67.42 million subscribers, representing 34.19 percent, while Globacom had 23.58 million or 11.96 percent and T2 had 3.61 million or 1.83 percent.

MTN and Airtel therefore accounted for approximately 86.2 percent of the market, underscoring the scale at which the two leading operators are exposed to the country’s growing data demand.

The August figures suggest that subscriber growth is no longer the only measure of Nigeria’s connectivity expansion. While mobile internet subscriptions increased by less than one percent in the month, data traffic expanded by almost six percent.

This means that each additional increment in internet penetration is potentially generating a disproportionately larger requirement for network capacity.

The trend could become more pronounced as broadband penetration rises and consumers move towards video streaming, social media, cloud-based applications, digital payments, online work, artificial intelligence tools and other data-intensive services.

For Nigeria, the implication is that the success of broadband expansion will increasingly depend not just on how many people are connected but on whether the underlying infrastructure can handle the volume of traffic generated by those users.

The country’s ongoing fibre expansion therefore becomes increasingly important. More broadband subscriptions without corresponding investment in fibre backhaul, access networks, spectrum and data-centre capacity could increase pressure on existing infrastructure.

The August figures also highlight the growing importance of fixed connectivity. While mobile remains the primary gateway to the internet for most Nigerians, the 11.7 percent monthly increase in fixed connections was more than 20 times the growth rate recorded by mobile GSM internet subscriptions.

That could signal an emerging appetite for higher-capacity connections among businesses and households, particularly where reliable fixed broadband is available and affordable.

However, the figures do not by themselves establish why data consumption increased so sharply. Changes in consumer behaviour, increased smartphone usage, video consumption, business activity, streaming and other digital services could all contribute to the rise.

What is clear is that Nigeria’s internet economy is becoming more data-intensive.

The country added less than one million mobile GSM internet subscriptions between July and August, yet users collectively consumed nearly 100,000TB more data.

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That gap is becoming an important indicator for the telecommunications sector.

As Nigeria pushes towards wider broadband coverage and greater digital inclusion, the next phase of the market may therefore be defined less by the race to acquire subscribers and more by the race to build enough capacity to serve the data appetite of those already online.

With broadband penetration now at 58.22 percent, the pressure on operators and infrastructure providers is likely to increase as more Nigerians gain access to faster connections and existing users consume increasingly larger volumes of data.