Nigeria’s telecom operators are adding subscribers and building new sites quickly, but damage to fibre-optic cables is undermining the quality of service, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.
The figures were shared after the NCC’s 110th board meeting on 9 September 2026.
The numbers
- 195.1 million active telecom subscriptions in July 2026, up from 192.23 million in June and 179.6 million in December 2025
- About 15.6 million subscriptions added between January and July
- 8,526 new coverage and capacity sites deployed in 2026, out of 12,179 that operators committed to build, a 70% delivery rate
- More than 5,000 fibre cuts in the first six months of the year
Market share
| Operator | Subscriptions (July 2026) |
|---|---|
| MTN Nigeria | About 100 million (52.1%) |
| Airtel | 66.76 million |
| Globacom | 23.63 million |
| T2mobile (formerly 9mobile) | 3.61 million |
Subscription numbers count active lines, not people, so many Nigerians with two or more SIM cards are counted more than once.
Why fibre cuts matter
Fibre-optic cables carry most of the traffic between cell sites and the wider internet. When a cable is cut, calls drop, data slows and some areas lose service entirely until it is repaired. According to the NCC, most cuts in 2026 were caused by road construction and rehabilitation work, and a sharp rise in network disruptions in June was linked to fibre damage.
Telecom infrastructure has been designated Critical National Information Infrastructure, which makes deliberate damage an offence. The NCC has also set up a standing committee on the protection of fibre-optic cables with the Federal Ministry of Works and the communications ministry, to coordinate before road projects begin.
What it means for you
More sites should mean better coverage and faster data in the long run. But until fibre damage is reduced, users in areas with heavy road works are likely to keep seeing outages. If your network is repeatedly poor, you can complain to your operator first and then escalate to the NCC’s consumer helpline, 622, if the problem is not resolved.
Source: NCC board communiqué, as reported by Technext. See also the NCC press releases.
