Nigeria’s info expertise and telecommunications sector remained a essential pillar of financial exercise in 2025, sustaining momentum regardless of inflationary pressures, international trade volatility and rising working prices.
Whereas operators navigated a tighter macroeconomic surroundings, the sector continued to drive digital inclusion, enterprise productiveness and repair innovation, reinforcing its strategic significance to nationwide growth.
Information from the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed that the ICT sector maintained a double-digit contribution to Gross Home Product (GDP) throughout the 12 months, consolidating its place as one of many strongest non-oil performers.
Telecommunications, broadband companies, information infrastructure and enterprise connectivity accounted for the majority of sector output, whilst shopper buying energy weakened.
The Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC) famous in its 2025 trade efficiency report that information companies remained the first progress driver.
In response to the regulator, “Demand for information continued to develop despite financial headwinds, reflecting the centrality of digital companies to enterprise operations, distant work, fintech and social engagement.”
The primary quarter of 2025 marked a notable shift for telecom subscribers, as Nigerians skilled will increase in the price of cell information and broadband companies. Main community operators adjusted information tariffs upward, citing inflation, international trade constraints, rising diesel costs and elevated community working bills.
In the meantime, Trade estimates point out that common information costs rose by between 10 and 20 per cent in Q1 2025, relying on the operator and repair plan. The changes triggered public debate on affordability notably for low-income customers and small companies that rely closely on cell web for each day operations.
Whereas acknowledging subscriber issues, the NCC mentioned, pricing developments occurred inside a difficult price surroundings. “The sustainability of community investments should be balanced with shopper safety, particularly within the face of rising operational and infrastructure prices,” the Fee said.
Offering trade context, the chairman of the Affiliation of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, mentioned the tariff changes had been pushed by unavoidable financial realities fairly than opportunistic pricing.
“The telecom trade has been below immense strain from FX volatility, rising vitality prices, gear importation challenges and a number of taxation, Operators can’t maintain high quality of service and community growth if prices proceed to rise with out corresponding pricing changes,” Adebayo mentioned.
He added that telecom infrastructure stays capital-intensive and extremely delicate to macroeconomic shocks.
If networks collapse or funding stalls, your entire digital financial system suffers. What the trade seeks is a balanced, sustainable framework that protects customers whereas permitting operators to stay viable,” he harassed.
Nevertheless, trade analysts and telecom coverage consultants noticed that the Q1 tariff changes mirrored cost-push pressures throughout the financial system. Simply as they opined that points associated to the sector weren’t an remoted telecom situation. Inflation, diesel costs and FX pressures affected all infrastructure-heavy sectors with Telecom operators having restricted room to soak up these shocks.
From a knowledge perspective, a knowledge analyst/digital financial system observer, Oladimeji Edun, remarked that increased costs didn’t considerably dampen utilization.
“Regardless of the worth will increase, information consumption continued to rise, notably amongst enterprise customers and concrete subscribers. This reveals that information has turn into a necessity fairly than a luxurious in Nigeria’s financial system,” Edun mentioned.
Furthermore, Nigeria’s telecoms panorama in 2025 continued to be formed by dominant gamers equivalent to MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria whose investments in community capability, fibre backhaul and enterprise companies helped stabilise efficiency within the face of price pressures. MTN’s strategic entry into fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and glued broadband intensified competitors in each enterprise and residential connectivity, whereas Airtel centered on enhancing cell information protection and repair consistency in high-density city corridors.
Equally important had been the renewed efforts of Glo which intensified its fibre rollout and cell broadband optimisation throughout main cities, and Etisalat Nigeria’s legacy model now working as T2, which launched into a rebranding and community refresh technique geared toward restoring shopper confidence and enhancing the standard of cell connectivity. Trade observers say the rebranding to T2 represents greater than a reputation change, however a deliberate try and reposition the corporate as a aggressive data-centric operator in an more and more crowded market.
Collectively, MTN, Airtel, Glo and T2 have adopted a extra aggressive posture in addressing community congestion, dropped calls and information velocity complaints, deploying further base stations, upgrading fibre backhaul capability and investing in buyer expertise platforms.
In response to some studies, nationwide broadband penetration didn’t speed up as quickly as earlier targets, 2025 recorded measurable progress was recorded in metro fibre deployment, last-mile connectivity and enterprise-focused broadband options. As these Investments had been largely concentrated in campuses, estates, enterprise districts and occasion hubs the place demand for dependable, high-capacity connectivity stays strongest.
The NCC noticed that “the transition towards fibre-based entry networks and managed companies is enhancing high quality of service and community resilience, notably for enterprise and institutional customers.”
“The continued growth of knowledge throughout Lagos, Abuja and different strategic areas was probably the most important ICT developments of the 12 months. These amenities assist native information internet hosting, cloud companies and content material supply, decreasing latency and reliance on offshore infrastructure,” mentioned. vice chairman, Stephen Albert.
Trade stakeholders allude that information centres at the moment are central to Nigeria’s digital financial system, supporting fintech platforms, e-commerce, authorities digital companies and enterprise IT operations, whereas advancing information sovereignty and cybersecurity goals.
Commenting on the sector, vice chairman, Gross sales, Progress & Retention at OneData, mentioned, “2025 examined the resilience of the trade. Rising operational prices, FX volatility and infrastructure challenges pressured operators to be extra deliberate. Our give attention to effectivity, bundled options and buyer retention helped us keep stability and develop in focused segments.”
Inside this working surroundings, the web wi-fi suppliers, famous that they skilled a gentle and improved efficiency in 2025, outperforming earlier years inside focused segments. At the same time as the corporate reported roughly 68 per cent year-on-year progress in buyer acquisition, pushed by enterprise connectivity, campus options and strategic partnerships.
Albert famous that investments in FTTH growth, proactive community monitoring and inner course of enhancements strengthened service reliability, whereas focused advertising and marketing and buyer engagement boosted model visibility.
Whereas, the outlook for Nigeria’s IT and telecoms sector in 2026 stays cautiously optimistic. Demand for information, cloud companies, synthetic intelligence-enabled platforms and enterprise connectivity is anticipated to develop throughout schooling, healthcare, finance and occasions.
Consequently, stakeholders warn that regulatory readability, FX stability and infrastructure safety will decide how a lot of this potential will be unlocked.
