MTN Nigeria says the average subscriber now uses 14.8GB of mobile data every month. That is a fresh sign of how fast internet demand is climbing across the country. The telecom giant shared the figure in its latest half year 2026 financial report. It marks a 15.2 percent jump compared to the same period last year.
This rise in usage is not happening in isolation. More Nigerians now own smartphones, and internet access has become less of a luxury and more of a daily necessity. People rely on it for work, banking, education and entertainment. MTN linked the growth to a few key factors. These include a larger pool of active data users, wider smartphone penetration, and steady demand for high speed internet.
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The surge in usage is also driving revenue for the company. MTN’s data revenue jumped 38.4 percent to N1.70 trillion in the first half of 2026. That is up from N1.23 trillion in the same period in 2025. Data now makes up more than half of MTN Nigeria’s total service revenue, which stood at N2.97 trillion. As a result, data has cemented its place as the company’s biggest earner by far.
Network data traffic grew too, rising 25.8 percent year on year. That number shows just how much more content Nigerians are streaming, downloading and browsing compared to last year. This is happening even as many households continue to battle inflation and rising living costs. For a lot of families, cutting back on data simply is not an option anymore. So much of daily life, from remote work to mobile banking, now runs through the internet.
MTN’s subscriber numbers back up this trend. The company’s data subscriber base grew by 9.3 percent to reach 55.7 million users, up from 51 million a year earlier. Its overall subscriber base also expanded. It rose 8.9 percent to 92.2 million, up from 84.7 million in the same period of 2025. This keeps MTN firmly in place as Nigeria’s largest mobile network operator.
Beyond mobile data, MTN is also looking ahead. The company is expanding home broadband options to prepare for the next phase of growth. It highlighted fibre to the home and 5G fixed wireless access as key investment areas. The goal is to meet rising demand for reliable, high speed internet in Nigerian homes, not just on mobile devices.
The broader financial picture at MTN Nigeria looked strong overall. Total revenue climbed 25.9 percent year on year to N2.99 trillion. Profit after tax surged even higher, up 70.6 percent to N707.5 billion. Taken together, these numbers suggest that Nigerians are prioritizing internet access despite economic pressure. And MTN is capitalizing on that shift to strengthen its grip on the telecom market.
