Nigerian telecom giants, MTN and Airtel, posted a joint record of ₦3.74 trillion in data revenue alone over the first nine months of 2026 (9M’2026). The figures show that data purchases and increased usage are a key driver of Nigeria’s digital economy.
On a daily basis, both telecoms recorded ₦13.70 billion in data revenue per day over the 273 days between January and September 2026. Monthly, MTN and Airtel recorded ₦415.56 billion in data revenue across the first nine months of the year.
The data boom has witnessed a fine run following the implementation of tariff adjustments during the first half of 2025, boosted by surging internet consumption, lengthy online presence and rapid internet penetration by Nigerians.
But all is not as rosy from the consumer side of things because, as data revenue continues to rise, Nigerian users continue to feel cheated amid a growing sense of disconnect. Millions of subscribers are grappling with persistent network congestion, dropped calls, and poor internet speeds.
These complaints, evident across social media platforms, ongoing back-and-forth with the House of Reps, and official industry data show the widening gap between corporate profitability and deteriorating quality of service.
The growing mistrust subscribers are feeling toward internet service providers raises urgent questions about infrastructure resilience, regulatory enforcement, and the true cost borne by the everyday consumer.
How MTN and Airtel recorded ₦3.74trn data revenue in 9M’26
Data is the fuel for internet users, and the financial statements of both telcos showed just how much Nigerians are burning that fuel and how much telcos are making off it. During the first half of 2026, MTN declared ₦1.7 trillion in data revenue after adding 4.7 million data subscribers in the period. For the first nine months of 2026, data revenue rose to ₦2.68 trillion following a 35.8% year-on-year surge.
For MTN, during the 9M ’26, data revenue contributed over 50% of the operator’s earnings.
Airtel Nigeria’s financial year runs from April to March, so it is best to pick up the count from January to March (Q1, 2026), which is Airtel’s Q4 ‘26 in the financial statement.
Between January and March 2026, Airtel posted ₦328.63 billion ($244 million) in data revenue. Between April and September 2026 (H1’ 26), Airtel’s data revenue expanded by 52.7% to ₦732.6 billion ($544 million), up from ₦480.7 billion ($357 million), summing to ₦1.06 trillion across the nine months.
MTN’s ₦2.68 trillion and Airtel’s ₦1.06 trillion mean the telecom giants raked in a combined ₦3.74 trillion in data revenue between January and September 2026.
Also Read: MTN extends lead, now accounts for 60.5% of Nigeria’s fibre broadband market.
Consumer complaints
Across social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), the growing contrast between booming data revenue and poor consumer experience continues to trigger widespread criticism. It depicts the growing frustration of everyday Nigerian subscribers over deteriorating network quality and rapid data exhaustion.
Reacting to MTN’s multi-trillion-naira revenue figures, an X user pointed out the irony of telecom operators turning “disappearing data” into massive profits, urging the federal government to intervene on behalf of consumers.
Another subscriber accused MTN, Airtel and other telcos of building wealth at the expense of Nigerians through expensive data tariffs, unreliable connectivity, and unexplained depletion.
The frustration extends beyond pricing to persistent service delivery failures and a drop in value. A subscriber lamented that mobile operators hiked tariffs while reducing effective data volumes, noting that a 150GB bundle barely lasts two weeks despite a drop in network quality.
Also reacting to comparisons between MTN and Airtel’s revenue, another X user remarked that poor network reliability has become routine, expressing frustration that data bundles continue to deplete even as network instability prevents users from accessing the internet.
While telecom giants continue to report increased revenue amid increased internet usage, subscribers continue to demand measurable improvements in connection stability, transparent data billing, and strict regulatory oversight.
Aside from reactions on social media, industry data provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on consumer complaints further magnifies the growing frustration.
Across the first nine months, MTN (160,848) and Airtel (328,349) reported a combined 489,197 complaints filed by subscribers across their respective platforms.
Specifically, subscribers filed 302,863 complaints surrounding quality of experience in data and voice, with 56,701 complaints attributed to MTN and 246,162 complaints filed against Airtel. This also means that total complaints on poor network service took a 62% share of all complaints during the period under review.
Ongoing network accountability clash
Amid persistent outcry over network quality, the Nigerian House of Representatives directed Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Mafab Communications to appear before its ad hoc committee over issues relating to poor network quality in recent months.
The CEOs were summoned to explain the cause of dropped calls, slow internet connections, failed airtime, failed data transactions, and poor network coverage. Lawmakers also want to know ongoing measures to improve connectivity, which has become vital to Nigeria’s booming digital economy.
The CEO’s, however, failed to appear before lawmakers, with the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) questioning the House of Reps’ authority to compel telecom operators to give an account on pressing matters.
After failing to appear on two different occasions, Reps have threatened to impose fresh sanctions on the operators. In response, telecom operators have filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the House of Representatives to halt a probe into poor network service quality.
For Nigerians, their fate is hanging on a ledge as an average subscriber will not wait for a court case to end before resolving billing or service issues.
For now, compensation for poor network service seems to be the only response to a drop in network quality.
Under an active regulatory directive, the NCC requires operators to automatically credit subscribers with free airtime when network quality falls below set benchmarks in specific local government areas. According to the NCC, over 75 million subscribers have received airtime compensation as of May 2026.
Also Read: Nigeria’s 5G market share hits 5% as 3G continues to decline.
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