Nigeria’s data consumption hits record 8.51m terabytes in H1 2026

Nigerians consumed a record 8.51 million terabytes of data in the first half of 2026, according to The Guardian Nigeria, citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures. Monthly usage rose steadily from 1.385 million terabytes in January to 1.532 million terabytes in June.

The surge was driven mainly by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, whose data revenues overtook voice earnings. MTN’s 55.7 million data subscribers used an average of 14.8 gigabytes monthly, generating ₦1.70 trillion in data revenue, while Airtel earned ₦691 billion. Together, the operators generated ₦2.4 trillion from data services, even as consumers continue reporting slow speeds and unstable connections.