Nigeria’s Internet Consumption Surpasses 1 Million Terabytes in January 2025
Nigeria’s internet consumption exceeded the 1 million terabyte mark in January 2025, reaching the highest level ever recorded in the country. The Nigerian government had decided to track data usage starting in January 2023 to monitor both the increasing dependency on the internet and the growing demand for digital services.
However, despite this significant milestone, Nigeria’s total data consumption for January 2025 was recorded at 27,475 terabytes. This figure is notably lower than the 94,502 terabytes consumed in December 2024, highlighting a sharp decline in data usage.
The drop in data consumption could pose challenges for telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. Both companies recently implemented a 50% increase in data tariffs, leading to negative feedback from consumers.
Despite this setback, both companies still managed to gain new internet subscribers. In January, MTN added 1.4 million new users, while Airtel gained 1.08 million subscribers.
While these new regulations may cause short-term losses for telecom companies, they could potentially yield long-term benefits as the industry adapts to the new pricing structure.