MTN Nigeria becomes First Telecom to cross 100m Subscribers

MTN Nigeria has crossed 100 million subscribers for the first time. It is the first telecom operator in Nigeria to reach the milestone.

The company ended July with 100.86 million active subscribers. That is up from 98.64 million in June, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

MTN added 2.22 million subscribers during the month. It was the company’s strongest monthly growth so far this year.

It was also MTN’s biggest monthly increase since November 2024.

The milestone gives MTN a 51.76% share of Nigeria’s active mobile market. Airtel followed with 66.76 million subscribers. Globacom had 23.63 million subscribers. 9mobile, now known as T2 Mobile, had 3.61 million.

Nigeria’s total active mobile subscriptions also increased in July. The figure rose from 192.23 million in June to 195.11 million.

The latest figure remains below the 200 million-plus subscriptions recorded before the NIN-SIM enforcement exercise.

Nigeria had about 207.6 million subscriptions in October 2020. The figure later reached a reported 214.35 million in October 2022.

The NIN-SIM policy was introduced in late 2020. Its enforcement led to the disconnection of millions of lines that had not completed identity verification.

MTN’s growth has accelerated in 2026. The company started the year with about 94.2 million subscribers.

It added more than 6.6 million lines by July. That represents roughly 7% growth in seven months.

Telecom industry expert Osita Odafi said several factors may have driven the increase.

“New customer acquisition, reactivation of lines that had previously been restricted, subscribers migrating over from competing networks, and MTN’s expanding coverage reaching new areas,” Odafi said.

MTN’s growth has also outpaced some of its rivals. Airtel increased its subscriber base by 7.60% in the first seven months of 2026.

Globacom grew by 5.21% during the same period. T2 Mobile recorded the fastest growth among the major operators at 10.99%.

The larger subscriber base gives MTN more customers for its data and digital services. This includes its fintech offerings.

However, rapid subscriber growth could also increase pressure on MTN’s network. The impact may be greater in densely populated areas.

MTN has been increasing its infrastructure spending to support the expansion. The company spent ₦620.5 billion ($449.6 million) on capital expenditure in the first half of 2026.

The figure excludes lease additions. The spending covered spectrum, fibre backhaul and other network infrastructure.

The company now controls more than half of Nigeria’s active mobile market. Its next challenge will be turning that scale into higher data usage and greater adoption of digital services.