Nigeria’s internet landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, which is promising for users. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has recently licensed seven new Internet Service Providers (ISPs), bringing the total number of authorised ISPs in the country to 231, up from 224 in December 2025. Each new provider has been granted a five-year license, effective from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030, according to the latest regulatory data.
The majority of these new ISPs are concentrated in areas with high business activity; five are situated in Lagos, while one each has been established in Abuja and Imo State. The newly licensed companies include Amazon Kuiper Nigeria Limited, Boost ISP, Dasol Solutions Services, Fibre Sonic, Intellivision Technologies, Wetom Technologies, and Granet Technologies. This reinforces Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as central players in Nigeria’s broadband market.
On paper, this influx of ISPs is likely to foster heightened competition, especially as telecom operators vie for users’ attention. As of November 2025, Nigeria had approximately 144.7 million internet subscribers, with data consumption reaching an impressive 1.236 million terabytes that month. The addition of more ISPs is expected to positively influence service quality, pricing, and reliability.
However, it’s important to note that ISPs currently represent a relatively minor segment of Nigeria’s connectivity framework. Though providers like Spectranet, Starlink, FibreOne, Tizeti, and ipNX dominate the fixed and satellite ISP sectors, they collectively cater to only a small portion of the market. By Q2 2025, the top three ISPs accounted for around 65% of approximately 314,000 active ISP subscribers nationwide, a figure that is minimal compared to the mobile broadband sector.
This perspective is crucial, as Nigeria’s four primary mobile network operators—MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile—still account for 99.5% of all internet subscribers. Nonetheless, the NCC’s ongoing efforts to license more providers, including satellite services such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper, indicate a strategic commitment to diversifying internet access for Nigerians, especially as demand for faster, more reliable connectivity continues to grow.
