MTN, Airtel See Sharp Rise in Customer Spending in 2025

Nigeria’s top telecom operators, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, recorded significant increases in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in 2025, driven by tariff adjustments and higher data consumption nationwide.

ARPU measures the average monthly spend per subscriber on telecom services, including voice calls, SMS, data, and digital products.

MTN Leads in Customer Spending

MTN Nigeria’s monthly ARPU jumped to $3.60 in 2025 from $2.17 in 2024. In Naira terms, this represents an increase from N3,542 to N5,184 per customer per month. The growth pushed MTN’s total revenue for the year to N5.2 trillion, a 55.1% rise from N3.3 trillion in 2024.

The company reported an 11.6% increase in active data subscribers, while smartphone penetration grew by 7.9 percentage points to 66.1%. Data traffic increased by 34%, and average data usage per subscriber rose 20% to 13.1GB monthly, contributing to higher ARPU.

MTN also expanded its 4G population coverage by 2.1 percentage points to 84.6%, supported by increased investment in network infrastructure and service quality improvements.

Airtel Follows with Strong Growth

Airtel Nigeria’s monthly ARPU rose to $2.40 in 2025 from $1.70 in 2024. In Naira, this translates to N3,326 from N2,599, showing that while Airtel’s customers spend less than MTN’s on average, the operator still recorded impressive growth.

Revenue in constant currency grew 47.4%, driven largely by increased demand for data services and tariff adjustments. In reported currency, revenue rose 52.8% to $1,598 million, with Q4 growth hitting 54.7%.

Airtel’s data revenue surged 63.6%, supported by an 8.1% increase in data customers and a 49.2% rise in data ARPU. Average data usage per customer also increased 30.8% to 11GB monthly, up from 8.4GB the previous year.

Impact of Tariff Adjustments

Both operators benefited from a 50% increase in telecom tariffs approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in early 2025. Prices for voice calls, SMS, and data bundles rose across the industry. For example, SMS prices increased from N4.00 to N6.00, while voice and data rates were adjusted proportionally.

The rise in data consumption among Nigerians also played a major role in boosting revenue. According to the NCC, daily data usage has increased from 995,000 terabytes in March 2025 to 1.42 million terabytes in March 2026, up from 45,800 terabytes in March 2025.

Network Strain and Investments

The increase in data usage has put pressure on telecom networks, contributing to occasional poor service quality. To address this, NCC says operators have committed to upgrading 12,000 network sites this year to improve coverage and service.

The regulator has also directed operators to compensate customers in areas where network quality falls below prescribed standards. These steps aim to ensure that growth in revenue is matched by improvements in service delivery.