Nigeria’s active telecommunications subscriber base has crossed 200 million for the first time in two years, marking a significant recovery from the 2024 NIN-SIM enforcement exercise that led to the disconnection of approximately 70 million phone lines.
Latest industry data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that active subscriptions rose by 2.9 million to 200.3 million in September 2026, up from 197.4 million in August.
The growth represents a major rebound from the subscriber losses recorded during the Federal Government’s SIM-NIN compliance exercise, which saw active lines fall from 224.7 million in December 2023 to 154.9 million in September 2024.
The enforcement followed NCC directives requiring MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile, now T2mobile, to disconnect SIM cards not linked to verified National Identification Numbers (NINs).
Introduced in December 2020, the SIM-NIN synchronisation initiative was designed to strengthen national security by ensuring that every active telephone line could be linked to a properly identified subscriber.
However, widespread disconnections triggered public complaints, prompting the NCC to order the temporary reactivation of affected lines in July 2024.
With September’s growth, telecoms teledensity, which measures active telephone connections relative to the population, also increased from 91.07 per cent to 92.41 per cent.
MTN Nigeria maintained its market leadership, adding approximately 2.1 million subscribers to reach 104.65 million active lines in September.
Airtel retained second position with 68.04 million subscribers after adding about 600,000 lines, while Globacom remained third with 23.8 million, representing an increase of approximately 300,000 subscribers.
T2mobile remained largely stagnant at 3.6 million active lines, unchanged from its July 2026 subscriber count.
The industry’s recovery could gather further momentum in the final quarter of 2026.
Based on the average monthly growth rate of approximately 1.27 per cent recorded between April and September, Nigeria’s active telecom subscriber base could reach between 207.5 million and 208.2 million lines by December.
The projection is underpinned by expected festive-season SIM activations, increased mobile phone purchases and sustained demand for connectivity.
The return to the 200 million mark is a significant recovery milestone for the industry, although sustaining growth will depend on operators’ ability to improve network quality and deliver reliable services to an expanding subscriber base.