Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to stand out as an appealing telecommunications market, with MTN retaining its leading position. According to data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), about 1.97 million new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards were activated in Nigeria as of September 2025. This pushed the total number of active voice subscriptions to 173.54 million, up from 171.57 million recorded in August.
The report also indicated a rise in teledensity — the ratio of active telephone lines to every 100 people — which climbed to 80.05 per cent in September from 79.14 per cent the previous month. This reflects a steady increase in users across the country’s major mobile network operators.
According to Arise news on X Internet subscriptions also experienced growth within the same period, increasing from 139.7 million in 140.4 million in September. Similarly, broadband penetration improved slightly by 10 basis points to reach 49.34 per cent, translating to 106.97 million connections. Despite this progress, the figure remains 20.66 percentage points below the Federal Government’s 70 per cent broadband penetration target set for December 2025 under the National Broadband Plan.
A closer look at the data revealed that 4G technology accounted for the majority of mobile connections, making up 51.6 per cent of active users. 2G followed with 38.4 per cent, while 3G and 5G represented 6.6 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively.
In terms of market leadership, MTN Nigeria retained the top spot with 90.33 million active subscribers — a 52.12 per cent market share. Airtel came next, boasting 58.47 million users, which represents 33.74 per cent of the market.
Globacom currently accounts for 21.39 million active connections, representing 12.34 per cent of Nigeria’s telecom market. T2 (formerly 9mobile) remains the smallest operator with 3.11 million subscribers, translating to a 1.8 per cent market share — a modest rise from 2.73 million users in August. Despite a surge in new SIM activations, total data usage slightly declined from 1.15 million terabytes in August to 1.14 million terabytes in September.
Meanwhile, network analytics firm Ookla has ranked Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as the top-performing telecom operator in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Drawing on Speedtest Intelligence data and operators’ reports, the assessment covered Airtel Africa, Orange, MTN, and Vodacom across eight countries representing over half of SSA’s mobile connections.
According to Ookla, MTN Uganda led in East Africa, while MTN Nigeria dominated West Africa in 5G download speed. MTN’s operations in Uganda, Nigeria, and Botswana were the only ones to record median 5G speeds above 200 Mbps. Orange (Botswana), Safaricom (Kenya), Airtel (Nigeria and Uganda), Vodacom, and MTN South Africa followed, with median speeds between 160 Mbps and 186 Mbps. Airtel (Tanzania and Kenya) and Vodacom (Tanzania) trailed with speeds between 60 Mbps and 130 Mbps.
Ookla noted that despite economic headwinds — including inflation, currency devaluation, high energy costs, and regulatory pressures — SSA remains a promising market driven by a young population and growing demand for digital and financial services. Some operators, such as Airtel Nigeria, have implemented tariff adjustments to offset currency-related revenue declines. Source: Arise news.