Nigeria’s data traffic in 2025 skyrocketed by 35 per cent to a projected full-year total exceeding 13.2 million terabytes (TB), driven by surging internet usage across mobile and broadband networks, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Data made available to LEADERSHIP show this momentum building steadily since the NCC began tracking monthly usage in January 2023.

National internet traffic from major providers like MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, T2 and others climbed from 7.27 million TB in 2023 to 9.76 million TB in 2024, a 34.3 per cent year-on-year increase.

Between January and November 2025 alone, consumption hit 11.86 million TB, up 34.96 per cent, or 3.07 million TB, from the prior year, putting daily usage at over 41,000 TB and straining networks nationwide.

According to data on the NCC’s website, national internet traffic across MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, T2 and other internet service providers has risen consistently since the Commission began tracking monthly usage in January 2023.

“In 2023, Nigeria recorded 7.27 million TB in total data usage. This climbed to 9.76 million TB in 2024, representing a 34.3 per cent year-on-year growth.

The momentum has intensified in 2025, with full-year consumption now projected to exceed 13.2 million TB, implying growth of about 35 per cent over 2024.

“Between January and November 2025 alone, Nigerians consumed 11.86 million TB, up from 8.79 million TB in the same period last year—an increase of 34.96 per cent, or 3.07 million TB in additional volume,” the report read.

At this pace, the country is now consuming just over 41,000 TB of data daily, placing sustained pressure on mobile and broadband networks nationwide.

A closer look at traffic patterns also reveals pronounced seasonality. December has consistently emerged as the peak month for data use.

In 2024, December traffic exceeded November by 94,502 TB, while in 2023 the jump was 67,794 TB. Month-on-month growth for December averaged 10–11 per cent in both years, driven largely by holiday travel, video streaming, social media activity and online shopping.

According to industry players, the growth is being fuelled by cheaper smartphones, wider mobile internet access, rising video content, expanding cloud services, remote-work tools and the steady digitalisation of businesses and public services.

Notably, broadband penetration crossed the 50 per cent threshold in November 2025 for the first time, a historic milestone, though still short of the 70 per cent target set under the National Broadband Plan (NBP), 2020–2025.

Speaking on the report, a telecom analyst, Osita Odafi, said Nigeria’s soaring appetite for internet services has pushed national data consumption to 11.86 million terabytes (TB) as of November 30, 2025, placing the country firmly on course to exceed 13 million TB by year-end.

Odafi noted that the surge reflects how streaming platforms, cloud computing, fintech services and widespread smartphone adoption are rapidly redefining how Nigerians live and work.

Analysts increasingly view data consumption as a reflection of broader economic activity, showing how Nigerians communicate, transact, learn and entertain themselves.

Also speaking, the chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said rapid urbanisation was intensifying data demand.

“Cities like Lagos are growing at lightning speed with more people, more businesses, more devices.

“We recognise that data is the new oxygen. That is why we are investing heavily in 5G and fibre to build a smart, scalable network that can carry the weight of Nigeria’s digital future,” Balsingh said.

However, regulators have warned that infrastructure strain remains evident.

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, said the quality of service still requires improvement despite recent gains.

“Quality of service today is not yet where we want it to be, but it is equally true that we are no longer where we used to be,” Maida said, adding that operators are being compelled to accelerate investment while improving customer experience.

For telecom operators and internet service providers, the figures signal both opportunity and urgency. Sustaining the current growth trajectory will demand aggressive expansion of network capacity, greater resilience and smarter infrastructure design.

From a policy standpoint, analysts insist that progress will depend on faster execution of the 90,000-kilometre national fibre rollout under Project BRIDGE, resolving right-of-way bottlenecks, tackling multiple taxation at sub-national levels and addressing security challenges that inflate operating costs and expose infrastructure to vandalism.

If these constraints are removed, Odafi believes Nigeria’s current data boom may represent not a peak, but merely the opening phase of a much larger digital transformation.