MTN Nigeria says the average mobile data consumption per subscriber has risen to 14.8GB, reflecting Nigerians’ growing appetite for internet services as smartphone adoption continues to incre
MTN Nigeria says the average mobile data consumption per subscriber has risen to 14.8GB, reflecting Nigerians’ growing appetite for internet services as smartphone adoption continues to increase. This figure is according to its latest H1 2026 financial report.
The telecom company disclosed that average data usage per subscriber increased 15.2% year-on-year, helping drive data revenue up by 38.4% to ₦1.70 trillion in the first half of 2026, compared with ₦1.23 trillion during the same period in 2025.
Data remains MTN Nigeria’s largest source of service revenue, accounting for more than half of the company’s ₦2.97 trillion service revenue generated during the six-month period. The company attributed the growth to an increase in active data users, rising smartphone penetration, and sustained demand for high-speed internet services.
MTN also reported that network data traffic increased by 25.8%, while its data subscriber base grew 9.3% to 55.7 million users, up from 51 million a year earlier. At the same time, smartphone penetration reached 66.4%, indicating that roughly two out of every three MTN subscribers now access the network using smartphones capable of consuming larger volumes of internet data.
MTN’s report reveals a shift in Nigerians’ internet habitsThe figures suggest that Nigerians are not only coming online in greater numbers but are also consuming significantly more data than before.
For context, the average MTN data subscriber now uses nearly 15GB of data every month, enough to stream several hours of high-definition video, participate in frequent video calls, browse social media, play online games, and use cloud-based applications.
The higher usage reflects increasing reliance on digital services for work, entertainment, education, banking, and communication, as internet access becomes central to everyday life.
MTN described data as its “largest structural growth opportunity”, noting that continued investments in network capacity remain necessary to support rising demand.
Similar read: MTN Nigeria vests 129,129 shares worth ₦103.3 million in 6 employees
The operator also highlighted home broadband as another area of long-term growth, saying it is expanding its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) offerings to meet increasing demand for reliable high-speed internet.
Beyond data, MTN reported strong overall financial performance during the period. Total revenue rose 25.9% year-on-year to ₦2.99 trillion, while profit after tax climbed 70.6% to ₦707.5 billion.
The company also grew its total subscriber base to 92.2 million, an increase of 8.9% from 84.7 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, reinforcing its position as Nigeria’s largest mobile network operator.
Also read: MTN, Vodacom risk $298,000 fines under South Africa’s new mobile data rules
