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Industries · ICT and telecoms

ICT and telecoms: networks, data and digital services

The fastest-growing large sector. Telecoms and information services made the biggest contribution to growth in Q2 2026.

Key figures

ICT and telecoms in numbers

Latest official figures. Shares and growth are in real terms (2019 prices) unless marked nominal.

+10.38%Telecoms, real growth, Q2 2026Up from 7.39% in Q2 2025

9.72%Telecoms, share of real GDPQ2 2026; 9.20% a year earlier

11.74%Information and communication, share of real GDPGrowing 9.62%; 12.27% of nominal GDP

57.40%Broadband penetration, July 2026124.4 million broadband subscriptions (NCC)

157.4mInternet subscriptions, May 2026NCC

45,800 TBData used per day, May 2026NCC

Growth against the economy

ICT and telecoms, Q2 2026+10.38%

Whole economy, Q2 2026+4.43%

Broadband penetration, % of population (NCC)

Source: Nigerian Communications Commission, as reported by ThisDay · Updated monthly Data table Download CSV Excel

Analysis

What drives the sector

Data demand

Video, social media and mobile money push data use up every year.

Tariffs

The NCC approved tariff increases of up to 50% in early 2025, lifting operator revenue.

Investment

Operators invested more than ₦2.5trn in networks in 2025 (NCC).

Power and security

Diesel costs and theft or vandalism of sites raise the cost of keeping networks running.

Who is who

Regulators and main players

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)

Licensing, spectrum, tariffs and consumer protection.

NITDA and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy

Digital policy, data protection and skills programmes.

Mobile operators

MTN, Airtel, Globacom and T2 carry almost all mobile and internet traffic.

Fintechs and data centres

A growing layer of payments, cloud and software firms.

Outlook

What to watch

We do not publish forecasts. These are the signals we follow for this sector.

Broadband target

The National Broadband Plan aimed for 70% penetration; progress is published monthly by the NCC.

Subscriber numbers

Monthly NCC data on mobile, internet and broadband subscriptions.

Infrastructure

Fibre roll-out, right-of-way charges and protection of telecom sites as critical infrastructure.

Fintech rules

CBN rules on payments, agents and know-your-customer checks.

Sources