Nigerians consumed 11.94 million terabytes of internet data in the first eight months of 2026, around 90% of the volume recorded throughout 2025, pointing to growing demand through more intensive use of internet services.
In August alone, consumption reached 1.76 million terabytes, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s latest industry statistics.
The surge in internet data consumption intensifies pressure on Nigeria’s telecom operators to expand network capacity as users consume more data through existing and new connections. Operators must therefore accommodate rising traffic while maintaining service quality.
Part of the increase comes from additional internet connections. Osita Odafi, a telecom industry expert, said NCC figures showed approximately 800,000 new internet subscriptions in August alone, expanding the pool of connections generating data traffic.
But new subscriptions are only part of the explanation. Existing users are also using more data-intensive services, he said, particularly video platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels and Netflix. High-definition streaming and autoplay can further increase consumption.
“The critical question is no longer just how many Nigerians are connecting to the internet, but how intensively they are using it,” Odafi told TechCabal.
He also pointed to online banking, digital payments, cloud services, remote work tools, online education, and AI applications as drivers of demand. His assessment identifies potential drivers rather than a measured breakdown of how much traffic each activity generated.
The growing adoption of 4G and 5G is also supporting more data-intensive activities. 4G’s share of mobile subscriptions rose from 54.31% in July to 54.77% in August, while 5G increased from 4.74% to 4.92%. Together, the technologies accounted for approximately 60% of mobile subscriptions.
Monthly consumption was lowest in February, at 1.26 million terabytes, before rising to 1.4 million in March and crossing 1.5 million in June. By August, it had reached 1.76 million terabytes.
Faster connections can make streaming, cloud applications and other demanding services easier to use. Their rising subscription share does not, however, establish how much of the increase in consumption came from either technology.
Nigeria recorded 197.42 million telecommunications subscriptions in August, an increase of approximately 2.31 million, or 1.18%, from July. Data consumption therefore grew faster than total telecommunications subscriptions over the month.
The two indicators measure different things. Telecommunications subscriptions include connections used for voice and other services, while data consumption measures the volume of internet traffic. Subscription figures also count connections, not unique individuals.
The more relevant comparison is with internet subscriptions, including the approximately 800,000 additional connections in August. Even then, determining consumption per connection would require a consistent comparison of internet subscription totals and traffic over time.
MTN recorded 84.56 million internet subscriptions in August, followed by Airtel with 56.94 million and Globacom with 15.76 million. MTN and Airtel accounted for most subscriptions among the three networks.
For operators, sustained growth in consumption means more traffic to accommodate, whether it comes from additional connections or heavier use of existing ones.
“Continued investment in fibre infrastructure, network capacity and spectrum will be vital to accommodating this growth while maintaining service quality,” Odafi said.
He also identified zero-rated access to educational platforms, an initiative the NCC introduced on October 1, as a potential source of further demand. Under the initiative, eligible users are qualified to receive up to 100 megabytes of free daily data allowance to access designated educational platforms.
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