Nigeria’s active telecommunications subscriptions have crossed the 200 million mark for the first time since April 2024, signalling a recovery in the country’s mobile market following the mass disconnection of unverified SIM cards during the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM verification exercise.

The latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that active subscriptions across MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and T2 stood at 200,102,038 in September 2026.

The figure represents an increase of approximately three million connections from the 197.1 million recorded in August.

The development marks a significant milestone for the telecommunications industry, which experienced a sharp decline in its subscriber base following the Federal Government’s enforcement of mandatory NIN-SIM linkage in 2024.

Before the exercise, Nigeria had recorded more than 200 million mobile subscriptions in April 2024. However, the verification process pushed the industry’s subscriber database down to 171.8 million in May 2024.

MTN maintains market dominance

A breakdown of the September figures showed that MTN Nigeria retained its position as the country’s largest telecommunications operator, accounting for more than half of all active subscriptions.

The company added more than two million connections during the month, bringing its subscriber base to 104.6 million.

With this figure, MTN controlled 52.3 per cent of Nigeria’s mobile telecommunications market, leaving its three competitors to share the remaining 47.7 per cent.

Airtel Nigeria maintained its position as the second-largest operator after recording 618,660 additional subscriptions in September.

The increase raised its active subscriber base to approximately 68 million, representing 34 per cent of the market.

Globacom, the country’s third-largest operator, also recorded modest growth, with its subscriptions increasing from 23.5 million in August to 23.8 million in September.

Despite the increase, the telecommunications company accounted for only 11.89 per cent of the market.

However, T2, formerly known as 9mobile, continued to struggle to expand its customer base despite its recent national roaming agreement with MTN.

The NCC statistics showed that the operator’s active subscriptions remained unchanged at 3.6 million for the third consecutive month.

This represents just 1.89 per cent of Nigeria’s total mobile subscriptions.

Internet subscriptions rise to 160.9 million

Meanwhile, Nigeria also recorded an increase in active internet subscriptions across mobile, fixed wireless, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networks in September.

The figure rose to 160.9 million during the month, driven largely by increased connections through mobile telecommunications networks.

Mobile internet subscriptions increased from 158 million in August to 160.4 million in September.

Fixed wireless internet connections also recorded growth, rising from 227,910 to 248,651 within the period.

However, VoIP subscriptions declined slightly from 226,766 in August to 223,843 in September.

The NCC’s September statistics did not include updated figures for Internet Service Providers.

How NIN-SIM verification reduced subscriptions

Nigeria’s telecommunications industry experienced a significant contraction in 2024 following the Federal Government’s directive requiring subscribers to link their National Identification Numbers with their SIM cards.

The exercise resulted in the disconnection of approximately 64.3 million mobile lines that failed to meet the required registration and verification standards.

Globacom and the then 9mobile were among the operators worst affected by the exercise, losing millions of connections.

Globacom, which had 62.1 million active subscriptions in March 2024, saw its subscriber base fall to 19.1 million by September of the same year, representing a loss of approximately 43 million connections.

Similarly, 9mobile’s subscriber database declined from 11.6 million in March 2024 to 3.6 million in September, indicating that the operator lost approximately eight million subscriptions during the period.

The exercise reduced the combined active subscriptions of the four major GSM operators from about 219 million in April 2024 to 154.6 million by September 2024.

The latest September 2026 figures indicate that the industry has gradually recovered from the impact of the verification exercise, with total active mobile subscriptions once again crossing the 200 million threshold.