Nigeria's telecommunications sector started 2025 with high expectations. Policy reforms by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), renewed investment incentives from major operators and an ambitious digital agenda from the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy suggest the country can finally close its connectivity gap.
Yet, as the months passed, the promise gave way to public disappointment and repeated infrastructure failures. The year was defined by a stark paradox, in which telecommunications companies recorded their best financial results in a decade, while many consumers faced high bills and poor service. What was supposed to be a year of change became a year of despair for many.
Tariff hike, consumer reaction
The most immediate blow to consumers was the NCC's approval of a 50 per cent tariff increase in January, the first upward revision in 11 years.
Regulators argued that the move was necessary to reduce rising operating costs and the growing gap between legacy pricing structures. Officials stressed that the adjustment will stabilize the sector's financial position and spur immediate network investment.
NCC Executive Vice President Aminu Maida defended the move, saying it was “necessary to address the significant gap between operating costs and current tariffs, while also ensuring that service delivery is not compromised.”
Read also: 50% telecom tariff hike is only a start — Edun
Operators had lobbied for a 100 per cent increase, but even the approved 50 per cent increase left a hole in the pockets of ordinary Nigerians.
For operators, the result was dramatic. Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased significantly, with MTN and Airtel recording double-digit growth in ARPU in the first quarter (Q1).
However, for households and small businesses, the additional costs proved costly. Students, small businessmen and people with low incomes complained that basic internet access had become quite expensive. There was sharp criticism on social media and consumer groups warned that the increase risked widening the digital divide.
Record revenues, unequal payments
While consumers tightened their belts, telecom companies enjoyed a financial renaissance. MTN made strong profits, offsetting losses, and service revenues of the major players jumped; Similarly, Airtel recorded strong growth in Nigeria which supported the regional results.
This flow of income turned into an unprecedented capital expenditure cycle. Operators announced plans to spend billions on infrastructure, adding sites, expanding fiber and accelerating network upgrades.
The scale of the investment suggested that, for the first time in years, telecommunications companies had the capital to overcome long-standing capacity constraints and prepare for new technologies.
Yet, despite the huge expense, many customers saw no immediate improvement. As the year progressed, the gap between funds committed and improvements realized by users became more pronounced.
Read also: Telecom sector posts 5.78% real growth in Q3 2025
Broadband ambition, millions missing
Dramatically expanding broadband access was central to the government's digital ambitions. Minister Bosun Tijani framed the National Broadband Plan around universal broadband, AI-led innovation and e-governance reforms, with a key target of 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025.
Project Bridge was envisioned as the physical backbone of that ambition, a public-private plan to more than triple the country's existing fiber footprint by building thousands of kilometers of new open-access cable, funded through a special purpose vehicle and supported by development partners. The initiative promised to reduce costs, promote local ISPs, and connect underserved local government areas.
But the promise of broadband failed. By the end of 2025, broadband penetration remained well below the stated target, leaving Nigeria about 20 percentage points short of the 70 percent target. Delays in trenching and deployment, high deployment costs, regulatory blockages and macroeconomic constraints slowed the project bridge's timetable.
Read also: Nigeria risks missing broadband goal as reach crawls at 48%
Development finance pledges and state-level commitments failed to translate rapidly into on-the-ground activity, and experts warned of the risk that the new backbone capacity could be underutilized if last-mile and retail access issues were not addressed simultaneously. This shortcoming was not merely a technical embarrassment; This had concrete economic consequences. Slow pace and poor coverage slowed e-commerce, remote learning and telehealth expansion, and failure to meet penetration targets undermined the broader narrative of digitally enabled growth.
Vandalism, fiber cuts, erosion of progress
Perhaps, the most damaging event of the year was the increase in fiber cuts and vandalism. Despite telecom assets being designated as critical national information infrastructure in 2024, sabotage intensified across the country.
Operators reported daily incidents that disrupted multiple routes and caused widespread disruptions. Thousands of fiber cuts were recorded by mid-year, and several major cuts were discovered due to vandalism or accidental damage from construction. The human and economic costs were immediate: disrupted banking transactions, failed emergency calls, and business halts in areas that increasingly depended on stable connectivity.
This wave of destruction forced operators to remove equipment and capital originally earmarked for emergency repairs. Network teams found that restoration work instead of planned upgrades consumed spare parts, slowing the rollout of new capacity even as the backlog of consumer complaints grew. Regulators described the situation as a national emergency. Industry officials warned that without coordinated security responses and strong enforcement measures, investment dollars would be wasted repeatedly in fixing the same damaged properties.
MTN Chief Technology Officer Yahya Ibrahim warned that the network upgrade was being delayed because “spare parts and equipment originally used for capacity expansion are being used to repair the damage.”
Read also: Multiple fibre cuts shut out MTN customers from calls, data
Quality rules vs ground reality
In 2024 the NCC introduced strict quality of service rules aimed at enhancing consumer protection and holding operators accountable for measurable performance improvements. The regulations set demanding KPIs for complaint resolution, call completion and data throughput, and empowered the Commission to impose substantial fines.
Yet, the lofty goal of higher quality in 2025 collides with operational realities. Frequent power outages, uneven site security and a constant tide of vandalism have undermined the ability of operators to continually meet new standards. Enforcement relied heavily on operator reporting, limiting independent verification of improvements. Consumers became increasingly vocal, arguing that higher prices did not lead to the promised improvements in everyday service. Civil society and labor groups grew outraged, and public confidence in both operators and the regulator diminished as disputes over accountability increased.
Rural neglect, increasing division
Geography of connectivity was another sore point. While operators focused capital expenditure on high-value urban markets, rural and peri-urban communities remained disadvantaged. Internet access rates in rural areas lagged far behind urban centres, repair times were longer and outages were more disruptive. For millions of Nigerians, the reality of 2025 was becoming functionally invisible thanks to a digital economy increasingly structured around online services. The government approved new towers and programs to close the gap, but concrete benefits lagged behind rhetoric due to rollout delays and financing constraints.
A crossroads for policy, investment
By year end, the sector's trajectory was clearly mixed. Tariff reforms led to financial improvements and the potential for large-scale investment, but the benefits were uneven and often invisible to ordinary consumers. Vandalism and electricity instability repeatedly reduced gains, while misses on broadband targets highlighted weaknesses in planning and implementation.
The events of 2025 underlined that capital alone cannot solve systemic problems: sustainable progress will require stronger cross-agency coordination on security, targeted policies to encourage last-mile access and rural deployment, stronger enforcement mechanisms that go beyond self-reporting, and measures to ensure consumers actually benefit from price adjustments.
Connectivity is not just about speed or revenue; It is about inclusion, opportunity and national prosperity.
In 2025, Nigeria learned this lesson the hard way. This year has shown how far the sector has come and how far it still needs to go to build a resilient, affordable and truly national digital infrastructure.
