By Mike Abbah
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that the country’s  telecommunications sector is showing signs of recovery after the lull instigated by the NIN-SIM linkage process.
The NCC in the latest industry statistics revealed that with active subscriptions rising to 169.3 million in January 2025, following months of decline triggered by the mass deactivation of SIM cards, the industry is set for a major rebound.
In the latest industry statistics published on its website on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the NCC said that the figure represents an increase from 164.9 million recorded in December 2024, driven by growth from major operators—MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria.
The NCC noted that the surge comes after a challenging period, which saw subscriptions drop to 154.9 million in September 2024, following the deactivation of over 42 million SIM cards in February as part of the regulatory clean-up exercise.
The telecom industry regulator pointed out that the growth momentum has also boosted the country’s tele density—the measure of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants—to 78.10 per cent in January 2025, up from 76.08 per cent in December 2024.
The report showed that MTN Nigeria maintained its market leadership, expanding its subscriber base to 87.5 million in January, up from 84.6 million in the previous month—representing 51.7 per cent of the market share.
Airtel Nigeria followed with 57.6 million subscribers, increasing from 56.6 million in December 2024, to hold 34.1 per cent of the market share.
Globacom recorded modest growth, rising from 20.1 million subscribers in December to 20.5 million in January, while 9mobile’s subscriber base remained almost stagnant at 3.2 million for three consecutive months.
The telcom firms have been identified as the major driver of Nigeria’s thriving fintech sector as the country’s financial services system undergoes a major transformation towards extensive financial inclusion attainment.
