Nigeria’s telecommunications industry recorded a historic turnaround in 2025, reaching a cumulative valuation of about ₦75 trillion and reaffirming its role as the country’s most important non-oil economic pillar. The rebound followed years of financial strain marked by rising energy costs, forex pressure, and declining profitability among operators.
A major catalyst for the sector’s reinvention was the long-awaited tariff adjustment approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2025. The regulator sanctioned a 50 per cent upward review on regulated services, the first broad increase in over a decade. As a result, average voice call rates rose from ₦11 to about ₦15.40 per minute, while the reference price for 1GB of data increased from ₦1,000 to ₦1,400. Although the move triggered public criticism, it helped stabilise operator revenues and enabled major players such as MTN and Airtel to return to profitability after heavy losses in 2024.
Improved cash flows also unlocked significant infrastructure investments, with the industry attracting over $1 billion during the year. The Federal Government launched Project Bridge, aimed at deploying 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables nationwide to improve connectivity across all six geopolitical zones.
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At the same time, satellite broadband gained momentum, with Starlink recording around 65,000 subscribers early in the year, expanding internet access in underserved rural communities. Fifth-generation (5G) technology also advanced, reaching about 3.4 per cent adoption, largely concentrated in major cities to support high-capacity data demands, including cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The competitive landscape evolved through consolidation and rebranding. Notably, 9mobile was acquired and rebranded as T2 by Lighthouse Telecoms. The new operator signed a three-year national roaming agreement with MTN, allowing subscribers to access MTN’s network where T2 coverage is limited.
By Q3 2025, telecoms contributed an estimated ₦4.4 trillion to Nigeria’s GDP. Despite the disconnection of nearly 59.7 million lines earlier in the year due to SIM–NIN enforcement, active subscriptions rebounded to about 177.4 million by November. Nonetheless, the sector continues to grapple with high consumer costs, fibre vandalism, forex volatility, and uneven infrastructure development outside major urban centres.
