By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, November 11 (Radarr Africa) – Nigeria’s active telecom lines rose above 200 million in September 2026, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the first time the count has passed that mark since the 2024 enforcement of NIN-SIM linkage led to mass disconnections.
The NCC data put active lines at 200,337,097 in September, up from 197,416,694 in August, an increase of about 2.9 million in a month. Teledensity, which the NCC defines as the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants, rose to 92.41% from 91.07%. Because one person may hold several lines, the measure counts subscriptions rather than unique users.
By technology, 4G accounted for 54.37% of mobile connections, 2G for 36.42%, 3G for 4.16% and 5G for 5.05%. The 5G share was 4.92% in August, so it has now crossed 5% of the total.
Internet subscriptions rose to 160.9 million from 158.5 million, and broadband subscriptions to 128 million from 126.2 million. Broadband penetration climbed to 59.05% from 58.22%. Total internet data usage, however, slipped to 1.73 million terabytes from 1.76 million terabytes in August.
Fibre connections grew faster than most categories. Fibre-to-the-X subscriptions, a category that covers fibre links to homes, offices, streets, hubs and internet or private network operators, reached 401,666 in the third quarter from 319,735 in the second quarter.
The NCC also reported 1,603 subscribers who switched networks through number porting in September, up from 1,111 in August. Incoming ports were 854 for MTN, 580 for Airtel, 165 for Globacom and four for Vitel, with none for T2.
The telecom sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product was 9.72% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 9.19% in the first quarter.
Total data usage fell in the same month, from 1.76 million terabytes in August to 1.73 million terabytes in September, even as the number of lines, internet subscriptions and broadband subscriptions all rose.
