News Investigators/ MTN Nigeria says its network data traffic increased by 30.1 per cent in the first nine months of 2026, reflecting growing internet consumption and rising demand for digital services among telecommunications subscribers.
The company disclosed this in its unaudited financial results for the nine months ended Sept. 30 obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Monday.
MTN reported a 12 per cent increase in active data users to 57.2 million, from 51.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
The telecom operator also recorded a 16.2 per cent increase in average monthly data consumption per active user to 15.3 gigabytes, indicating that existing subscribers are consuming more internet data alongside the expansion in its user base.
The growth according to the reports, translated into a 35.8 per cent increase in data revenue to N2.68 trillion, making data services the company’s largest revenue contributor.
MTN’s total mobile subscribers also increased by 10.9 per cent to 94.7 million, compared with 85.4 million in September 2025.
MTN Nigeria attributed the growth to deeper digital adoption, increased usage and rising demand for home broadband services.
To accommodate the growing demand, MTN said it increased capital expenditure, excluding leases, by 14.2 per cent to N864.8 billion during the nine-month period.
Investment accelerated in the third quarter, rising by 69.1 per cent year-on-year to N243.9 billion, as the company intensified its network rollout to expand coverage and capacity and improve service quality.
The company’s broadband business also recorded growth, with broadband subscribers reaching 2.21 million at the end of September, compared with 1.89 million at the end of June 2026.
Its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service accounted for approximately 13 per cent of total data traffic, helping to reduce pressure on the mobile network while improving network efficiency.
MTN reported smartphone penetration of 66 per cent on its network, while its population coverage for 5G increased to 13.19 per cent, against 12.08 per cent in 2025.
The company’s disclosures, however, also highlighted the continuing challenge of maintaining network reliability amid growing demand.
The company said it recorded five major Information Technology (IT) and network service disruptions during the third quarter.
This, it said, resulted in a combined 12 hours and 53 minutes of customer downtime for the reported severity-one and severity-two incidents.
The company also reported network availability of 99.19 per cent.
The growth in data consumption contributed to the company’s financial performance, with service revenue increasing by 23.7 per cent to N4.59 trillion, while profit after tax rose by 55.3 per cent to N1.17 trillion.
The MTN Nigeria CEO Mr Karl Toriola, said the company’s growth was driven by higher usage, deeper data adoption and demand for home broadband, supported by continued investment in network coverage, capacity and quality.
He said the company remained focused on sustaining growth, improving customer experience and expanding home broadband services.
NAN
