Nigerians consumed 8.52 million terabytes (TB) of internet data in the first half of 2026 as broadband penetration climbed to 56.8%, highlighting the rapid expansion of digital connectivity and growing reliance on internet-based services.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that total data consumption increased from about 5.96 million TB in the first half of 2025 to 8.52 million TB between January and June 2026.

The increase represents a 42.9% year-on-year rise, with Nigerians consuming about 2.56 million TB more data in the first six months of 2026 than during the corresponding period last year.

The growth in data usage coincided with a significant expansion in broadband connectivity, with broadband subscriptions rising from 115.04 million in January to 123.11 million in June.

Broadband penetration consequently increased from 53.07% at the beginning of the year to 56.79% by June, according to NCC industry statistics.

Data consumption climbs monthly

The NCC figures show that data consumption maintained an upward trajectory throughout the first half of the year.

Monthly consumption rose from 1.39 million TB in January to 1.53 million TB in June 2026.

June’s figure was 46.7% higher than the 1.04 million TB recorded in June 2025, highlighting the acceleration in Nigerians’ demand for internet connectivity.

The increase means Nigerians were consuming larger volumes of data even as the number of broadband connections continued to expand.

The trend reflects the growing use of data-intensive services, including video streaming, social media, digital payments, online education, cloud applications, e-commerce and remote work.

It also points to a gradual transformation of Nigeria’s telecommunications market from one traditionally dominated by voice services to one increasingly driven by data.

Broadband subscriptions add 8m connections

Broadband subscriptions increased by about 8.07 million between January and June, moving from 115.04 million to 123.11 million.

The increase pushed broadband penetration closer to 57%, although the subscription figure should not be interpreted as the number of unique Nigerians connected to broadband because an individual can have multiple subscriptions.

Total telecommunications subscriptions also increased during the six-month period, rising from 182.23 million in January to 192.23 million in June.

Teledensity rose alongside the increase in subscriptions, moving from 84.06% to 88.67%.

The simultaneous growth in total subscriptions, broadband connections and data consumption suggests that Nigeria’s digital ecosystem is expanding both in terms of the number of connections and the intensity with which existing connections are being used.

Faster networks support data growth

The technology mix supporting Nigeria’s connectivity is also changing.

NCC figures show that 4G accounted for 54.31% of mobile-generation market share in June, up from 53.41% in January.

5G also increased its share from 3.94% in January to 4.61% in June.

Meanwhile, 2G’s share declined from 36.97% to 36.22%, while 3G fell from 5.67% to 4.86%.

The shift towards 4G and 5G provides greater network capacity for services that require higher speeds and larger volumes of data.

For consumers, this increasingly supports activities such as high-definition video, social networking, online gaming, digital financial services and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

NCC stresses meaningful digital participation

The surge in data consumption comes as connectivity becomes increasingly important to economic and social activities in Nigeria.

Dr Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, has previously stressed the need to move beyond simply expanding access to ensuring Nigerians can meaningfully benefit from connectivity.

“As connectivity becomes more central to everyday life, responsibility goes beyond access alone. Nigerians must be able to participate meaningfully in the digital economy,” Maida said.

The latest NCC figures provide a measure of that growing demand, with Nigerians consuming 8.52 million TB of data in just six months.

Telecoms operators benefit from data demand

The increasing appetite for data is also reflected in the financial performance of major telecommunications operators.

Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, reported ₦1.699 trillion in data revenue in the first half of 2026, up 38.4% from ₦1.229 trillion recorded in H1 2025.

The operator also recorded a 25.8% increase in network data traffic, while average data usage per subscriber rose by 15.2% to 14.8GB.

MTN Nigeria identified rising data demand, underpenetrated home broadband and accelerating enterprise digitalisation as major structural growth opportunities.

Airtel Africa has similarly reported strong growth in its data business, with group data revenue increasing by 27.2% in constant-currency terms in the quarter ended June 2026.

The company’s data customer base increased by 15.5%, while data average revenue per user rose by 10.3%.

Airtel’s subscriber base increased from 62.04 million in January to 66.12 million in June, while Globacom’s subscriber base rose from 22.46 million to 23.68 million.

The figures collectively point to a telecommunications market where data is becoming increasingly central to consumer behaviour, operator revenues and network investment.

With Nigerians consuming 8.52 million TB of data in six months and broadband penetration approaching 57%, the challenge for the industry is increasingly shifting from simply connecting Nigerians to ensuring that network capacity, infrastructure investment and service quality keep pace with the country’s growing digital appetite.