Nigeria’s telecom heavyweights, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Nigeria, have posted a combined N6.8 trillion in revenue in their latest reporting periods, highlighting the rapid transformation of the sector into a data-driven industry.
MTN reported N5.2 trillion in revenue for the 2025 financial year, with data earnings surging 74.5 percent to N2.78 trillion. Voice revenue also grew but at a slower pace, confirming broadband as the company’s primary growth engine.
Airtel Nigeria, reporting under Airtel Africa, generated about N1.58 trillion from its Nigerian operations after currency conversion, with data revenue rising more than 65 percent.
Driven by growing smartphone penetration and more monthly data usage per subscriber, total income among both operators is expected to have crossed N3.5 trillion. MTN users consume about 10.7 gigabytes; Airtel customers average 13.1 gigabytes per month.
The News Chronicle understands that better macroeconomic stability and favourable foreign exchange rates improve profitability, especially for MTN, which recovered to more than N1 trillion in after-tax profit following earlier-year currency losses.
Both operators are moving into network growth and digital services, with over 140 million connections between them. According to industry experts, the data validate a clear shift in data consumption away from conventional voice calls, defining Nigeria’s telecom future.
