Nigeria’s active mobile telecommunications subscriptions have crossed the 200 million mark for the first time in more than two years, signalling a recovery in the country’s telecoms market following the Federal Government’s National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM verification exercise that disconnected millions of telephone lines in 2024.
Latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that active mobile subscriptions rose to 200.34 million in September 2026, from 197.42 million recorded in August, representing an increase of about 2.92 million connections within one month.
The September milestone is the highest level recorded since the verification exercise triggered a sharp decline in active telephone lines, which had previously exceeded 200 million in April 2024.
The growth was largely driven by subscriber additions across the major mobile network providers, particularly MTN Nigeria and Airtel, as operators continued to rebuild their customer bases through new registrations, network expansion and improved service offerings.
MTN Nigeria maintained its dominance of the market, with approximately 104.6 million active subscriptions, representing 52.3 per cent of the market. Airtel followed with about 68 million connections and a 34 per cent market share, while Globacom accounted for approximately 23.8 million subscriptions, representing 11.89 per cent.
