MTN Nigeria’s data business has become the biggest engine of its revenue growth, generating ₦2.68 trillion in the first nine months of 2026 as Nigerians consumed more internet data and increasingly relied on digital services.

The figure represents a 35.8% increase from the ₦1.98 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the mobile phone company’s financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.

The performance underscores a major shift in Nigeria’s telecommunications market, where data consumption is increasingly taking precedence over traditional voice calls as consumers use mobile internet for communication, entertainment, business, financial transactions and access to digital services.

MTN Nigeria’s data revenue accounted for about 58.5% of its ₦4.59 trillion service revenue during the period, making data its largest service revenue segment. The company’s data traffic increased by 30.1% year-on-year, while its active data subscriber base rose by 12% to 57.2 million from 51.1 million in September 2025. But the growth was not driven solely by more people using data. Average monthly data consumption per active user increased by 16.2% to 15.3GB, showing that existing subscribers are also consuming substantially more internet data.

MTN Nigeria’s data revenue accounted for about 58.5% of its ₦4.59 trillion service revenue during the period, making data its largest service revenue segment. The company’s data traffic increased by 30.1% year-on-year, while its active data subscriber base rose by 12% to 57.2 million from 51.1 million in September 2025. But the growth was not driven solely by more people using data. Average monthly data consumption per active user increased by 16.2% to 15.3GB, showing that existing subscribers are also consuming substantially more internet data.

For MTN Nigeria, the combination of a larger data-user base and heavier consumption per subscriber is strengthening the role of data in its business.

Dr Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, said the company’s growth was increasingly being driven by higher customer numbers and deeper data adoption.

“Growth is increasingly volume-led, driven by more users, deeper data adoption, higher usage and rising demand for home broadband, supported by continued investment in network coverage, capacity and quality,” Toriola said.

MTN Nigeria: Data widens gap with voice

The widening gap between data and voice revenue reflects the changing way Nigerians communicate and consume services through their mobile phones.

While data revenue rose 35.8% to ₦2.68 trillion, voice revenue increased by 11.1% to ₦1.50 trillion from ₦1.35 trillion in the first nine months of 2025.

The figures mean MTN Nigeria generated about ₦1.18 trillion more from data than voice during the nine-month period.

The slower growth in voice revenue comes as customers increasingly shift communication and other activities to internet-based services, with MTN reporting softer voice usage per subscriber.

Overall, MTN Nigeria’s service revenue rose 23.7% to ₦4.59 trillion from ₦3.71 trillion a year earlier.

The results indicate that the economics of Nigeria’s mobile market are becoming increasingly tied to how much data subscribers consume, rather than simply how many calls they make.

For consumers, that shift also means greater pressure on telecommunications networks to provide sufficient capacity as smartphones become the primary gateway to online services.

More smartphones, more data demand

The growth in data consumption coincided with a continued increase in smartphone adoption on MTN Nigeria’s network.

Smartphone connections increased by 12.4% year-on-year, while smartphone penetration reached 66%, representing a 0.9 percentage-point increase.

The growing availability of 4G- and 5G-capable devices is supporting higher internet consumption and increasing demand for network capacity.

As more subscribers use smartphones for video, social media, online commerce, financial services, work and other data-intensive activities, the amount of traffic generated on telecommunications networks is also increasing.

This is contributing to MTN Nigeria’s decision to invest more heavily in network coverage, capacity and quality.

MTN turns to fibre as data traffic grows

MTN Nigeria is also expanding its home broadband business as data consumption increases.

Its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network now carries about 13% of the company’s total data traffic, according to the results.

MTN said the growing contribution of fibre broadband helps free capacity on its mobile network while improving the efficiency and scalability of its infrastructure.

The development is significant as demand for reliable household and business internet connections increases, particularly among users whose consumption patterns involve sustained or high-volume data use.

Home broadband is therefore becoming an increasingly important part of MTN Nigeria’s connectivity strategy alongside its mobile network.

The company said its home broadband business is becoming an increasingly important contributor to growth, supported by its position in the FTTH market.

Digital business also expands

MTN Nigeria’s broader digital business is also growing, although at a smaller scale than its core data operations.

Digital revenue increased by 24% to ₦88.3 billion during the nine months, with growth accelerating to 30.6% in the third quarter.

The company attributed the growth to rich media services and mobile advertising.

Enterprise revenue also increased by 6.5%, supported by bulk SMS, fixed connectivity and converged services.

The performance points to a wider expansion of MTN Nigeria’s business beyond traditional telecommunications services as consumers and enterprises increasingly depend on digital connectivity.

Network investment rises with data consumption

The surge in data traffic is being accompanied by higher investment in the network needed to carry it.

MTN Nigeria’s capital expenditure excluding leases increased by 14.2% to ₦864.8 billion in the first nine months of 2026, compared with ₦757.4 billion in the same period of 2025.

Investment accelerated sharply in the third quarter, with capital expenditure excluding leases rising by 69.1% year-on-year to ₦243.9 billion.

MTN said the increased investment is supporting its 2026 network rollout, including the expansion of coverage and capacity, improvements in network quality and the growing demand for home broadband.

The investment comes as the operator faces a telecommunications market in which heavier data consumption is putting greater demands on network infrastructure.

For Nigerian subscribers, the growth in data usage is likely to remain closely linked to the quality and capacity of networks, particularly as smartphone adoption, video consumption, digital payments, social media and other online services continue to expand.

MTN’s profit rises as data business strengthens

The growth in data revenue also contributed to a stronger overall financial performance.

MTN Nigeria’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 36.8% to ₦2.62 trillion, while its EBITDA margin expanded by 5.5 percentage points to 56.9%. Profit after tax rose 55.3% to ₦1.17 trillion.

The results show that MTN Nigeria’s business is increasingly being shaped by the country’s appetite for internet connectivity.

With data revenue now accounting for more than half of service revenue, the operator’s growth strategy is increasingly tied to attracting more data users, encouraging deeper consumption and expanding broadband services.

Toriola said the company would remain focused on subscriber expansion, deeper data adoption and the scaling of home broadband, digital and enterprise services while protecting margins and continuing to invest in network infrastructure.

For Nigeria’s telecoms market, the numbers offer a clear signal of where consumer demand is heading: voice remains important, but data is now driving the economics of the mobile phone business.