Nigeria’s telecommunications sector recorded a modest uptick in active users in March, driven by the activation and reactivation of approximately 1.11 million SIM cards, according to new industry data.
Figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that the total number of active telephone subscribers rose from 184.6 million in February to 185.7 million in March. This increase also nudged the country’s teledensity from 85.16 per cent to 85.67 per cent, reflecting gradual expansion in connectivity.
MTN Retains Lead as Market Competition Persists
The data confirms that MTN Nigeria maintained its dominant position with 95.7 million subscribers, accounting for 51.6 per cent of the market. Airtel Nigeria followed with 63.6 million users (34.3 per cent), while Globacom held 22.6 million subscribers, representing a 12.2 per cent share.
9mobile—now operating as T2—remained a distant fourth with 3.47 million subscribers, translating to 1.88 per cent market penetration.
4G Dominates While 5G Gains Gradual Traction
Further analysis highlights Nigeria’s evolving data landscape. Total data consumption reached four million terabytes by the end of the first quarter, spanning legacy and next-generation networks.
As of March 2026, 4G networks accounted for 53.76 per cent of all connections, underscoring their dominance. Meanwhile, 2G still represented 36.74 per cent, with 3G trailing at 5.30 per cent.
Despite its relatively recent rollout in October 2022, 5G has achieved 4.2 per cent penetration, with adoption concentrated in major urban centres such as Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
NCC Forces Telcos to Compensate Subscribers for Poor Service
In a significant regulatory shift, the NCC has begun enforcing its Consumer Compensation Framework, compelling telecom operators to provide direct restitution to customers affected by poor service quality.
Major providers, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, are now issuing automatic airtime credits to subscribers—marking a departure from previous practices where penalties were paid to regulators without direct consumer benefit.
Subscribers of Airtel Nigeria began receiving compensation notifications, with messages stating: *“Dear customer, you have been credited with compensation airtime for service quality issues (Nov 2025 – Jan 2026). Dial 310# to check.” Reported credits ranged from ₦167 to over ₦500, with most falling below ₦1,000.
Similarly, MTN Nigeria had earlier credited affected users with amounts between ₦20 and ₦341 for network disruptions experienced in January 2026.
“Era of Warnings Is Over” — NCC
Speaking on the policy shift, NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida, emphasised the regulator’s new stance.
“This is about giving back value to subscribers who have experienced poor service. It is not a refund from the regulator, but a compliance obligation placed on service providers,” he said.
The compensation applies specifically to service failures recorded between November 2025 and January 2026. Unlike promotional bonuses, the airtime—described as “clean credit”—does not expire and can be used for calls, data, or SMS.
Importantly, the process is fully automated. Telecom operators are required to detect service disruptions at the Local Government Area level and credit eligible users without requiring applications or complaints. Qualification depends on whether a subscriber was in an affected area and carried out a billable activity during the outage period.
Infrastructure Push to Prevent Future Failures
Alongside compensation measures, the NCC is pushing operators toward large-scale infrastructure upgrades to improve service delivery.
According to Maida, telecom companies have collectively committed to around 12,000 network upgrades in 2026—a sharp increase compared to just over 300 upgrades recorded last year. One major operator has also pledged more than $1 billion in fresh capital investment.
Industry analysts say while the compensation policy represents a major win for consumer protection, its long-term success will depend on whether it drives meaningful improvements in network quality across the country.