MTN, Airtel take 90% of Nigeria’s 15m new subscribers as Glo shifts ground

Globacom added 1,123,714, while T2 added 357,717.

These figures indicate that the growth of Nigeria’s mobile market in the first eight months of 2026 has largely strengthened the positions of the two biggest operators rather than materially altering the industry’s competitive order.

Airtel therefore increased its market share marginally, moving from approximately 34.09% to 34.19% The mobile phone company’s performance was particularly significant because it maintained growth throughout the period while operating in a market dominated by MTN.

Globacom presents a different story. At first glance, the operator appears to have had a positive year.

As a result, Glo’s market share fell from approximately 12.34% in January to 11.96% in August. The decline becomes more visible when the monthly trajectory is examined.

The number three operator fell to 23,628,966 in July and declined further to 23,583,253 in August.

The figures, however, also show a less consistent growth pattern than those of the two market leaders.

So while T2 was technically the fastest-growing operator by percentage, its 357,717 net additions represented only about 2.4% of total industry additions.

Its performance is therefore a growth story, but not yet a market-disruption story.

June was the second strongest month, with an increase of about 2.55 million.

The market therefore recorded an increase every month in the supplied January-August series.

The 15.17 million net additions recorded between January and August would ordinarily suggest a broadly positive market environment.

However, the distribution of those additions tells a different story.

This means the competitive distance between the market leaders and the rest of the market widened during the period.

The August numbers reinforce that position.

Airtel, with 67.42 million, was itself nearly three times the size of Glo’s 23.58 million base.

The same NCC data shows broadband subscriptions rising from 115,040,077 in January to 126,217,174 in August, an increase of more than 11.17 million during the eight-month period.

NCC data shows 4G’s share of mobile connections rising from 53.41% in January to 54.77% in August, while 5G increased from 3.94% to 4.92% over the same period. At the same time, 2G declined from 36.97% to 36.05%.

The January-August figures produce four distinct stories.

T2 is the fastest percentage grower. But its low starting base means its absolute contribution to industry growth remains modest.

The emerging picture is therefore not one of a shrinking Nigerian telecoms market. It is the opposite.

For Glo, the August decline raises a more immediate question: whether the operator can reverse the two-month contraction before the loss of market share becomes a longer-term trend.

For T2, the challenge is different: whether its double-digit percentage growth can translate into meaningful scale.

For Airtel, the opportunity is to turn its strong acquisition momentum into a stronger challenge to MTN’s dominance.

And for MTN, the immediate headline is already clear.

Tweet12Share3SendShare Previous Post Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria to unveil digital membership system Technology Times Newsroom 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐀𝐩𝐩: +𝟐𝟑𝟒 𝟐𝟎𝟏 𝟒𝟓𝟒 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟖.

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