July 18, 2025/CSL Research
Over the past five years, Nigeria has witnessed a dramatic transformation in its telecommunications landscape, marked by significant growth in mobile data consumption and smartphone penetration. This evolution has been driven by a confluence of factors, including the country’s ongoing shift from analog to digital systems, rapid population growth, increased urbanization, and the expansion of mobile broadband infrastructure.
As Nigeria continues its transition toward a digital-centric economy, the foundations for broad-based mobile connectivity have become increasingly robust, particularly as smartphone adoption rises and the youth population—a largely digital-native demographic—continues to embrace online services at an accelerating pace.
A key indicator of Nigeria’s digital transformation is the rapid growth in mobile data consumption. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mobile data usage surged from approximately 518,000 terabytes (TB) in January 2023 to over 1,001,000 TB by January 2025—a 93% increase in just two years. This sharp rise reflects growing demand for data-driven services such as social media, video streaming, e-commerce, and mobile banking, supported by the continued expansion of 4G and rollout of 5G networks.
As data usage increases, telecommunications operators are seeing a significant shift in revenue composition. While voice services have traditionally dominated total revenues, this is changing rapidly. Data services are now becoming a major revenue driver, fuelled by growing consumption, improved network infrastructure, and the increasing adoption of smartphones.
The shift is particularly evident in the financial results of major telecom operators like MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa. MTN Nigeria’s performance in the first quarter of 2025 illustrates this shift vividly. The company reported a 51.5% y/y increase in data revenue which rose to ₦529.44 billion in Q1 2025 from ₦349.51 billion in Q1 2024. More notably, data revenue accounted for 50.04% of total revenue during the period, surpassing voice revenue, which contributed 38.51%. Airtel Africa has also experienced growth in data revenue, albeit at a more moderate pace. In its full-year financial results for FY 2025, Airtel reported a 4.0% y/y increase in data revenue, rising to US$1.80 billion in FY 2025 from US$1.73 billion in FY 2024.
While voice revenue still contributes slightly more—39.64% compared to data’s 36.41 percent—the narrowing gap signals an imminent tipping point. It is evident that, like MTN, Airtel is poised to see data revenue become its dominant income stream in the near future.
Looking ahead, the outlook for continued growth in data revenue in Nigeria remains strong. Key drivers—such as rising smartphone penetration, growing adoption of digital services, and sustained investment in mobile network infrastructure are expected to further boost data consumption. For telecom operators, these trends point to sustained momentum in data-driven growth, firmly positioning mobile data as the foundation of Nigeria’s fast-evolving digital economy.
Click here to download full report: CSL Nigeria Daily – 18 July 2025 – Telecoms .pdf
