Nigeria’s Internet market has become more competitive following the licensing of seven new Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), raising the total number of authorised ISPs in the country from 224 in December 2025 to 231.
According to updated data from the regulator, each of the newly approved operators has been granted a five-year licence, effective from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030.
The new licensees are largely concentrated in areas with high commercial activity. Five of the companies are based in Lagos, while Abuja and Imo State account for one each. The newly licensed ISPs are Amazon Kuiper Nigeria Limited, Boost ISP, Dasol Solutions Services, Fibre Sonic, Intellivision Technologies, Wetom Technologies, and Granet Technologies.
The latest approvals further highlight the dominance of Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria’s broadband ecosystem, while also signalling the NCC’s continued efforts to deepen competition in the sector.
On paper, the additional operators are expected to intensify competition at a time when telecom companies are aggressively battling for subscribers. As of November 2025, Nigeria recorded 144.7 million Internet subscribers, with monthly data consumption reaching an all-time high of 1.236 million terabytes. With more ISPs entering the market, consumer expectations around service quality, pricing, and network reliability are likely to increase.
However, ISPs still account for a relatively small share of Nigeria’s overall Internet connectivity. Fixed and satellite broadband providers such as Spectranet, Starlink, FibreOne, Tizeti, and ipNX collectively serve only a fraction of users nationwide. By the second quarter of 2025, the top three ISPs controlled about 65 per cent of the country’s estimated 314,000 active ISP subscribers, a figure that pales in comparison to mobile broadband usage.
Nigeria’s four mobile network operators MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile — continue to dominate the market, accounting for about 99.5 per cent of all Internet subscribers in the country.
Despite this imbalance, the NCC’s sustained licensing drive, including approvals for satellite Internet providers such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper, reflects a long-term strategy to diversify access to the Internet. The move is aimed at improving coverage, boosting reliability, and meeting the growing demand for faster connectivity across Nigeria.
