Nigeria's fixed broadband subscriber base surged from 14,053 in January 2025 to 124,590 by February 2026, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission. MTN Fixed, rebranded as FibreX in April 2025, accounts for 110,564 of those connections—88.7 percent of the total market. The company added over 95,000 subscribers in 10 months, achieving a 639 percent growth since its rebrand, and crossed 100,000 users in February with a 23.6 percent monthly increase. Other providers showed minimal traction. SWIFTNG dropped from a peak of 25,484 subscribers in December 2025 to 13,945 by February 2026. 21st Century's base collapsed from 2,259 in April 2025 to 81 in February 2026. ipNX, INQ Digital, and Big Picture reported zero fixed-wired subscribers in NCC data, though they serve customers under ISP licensing. MTN aims to connect eight million homes by 2028, up from current levels, backed by N1 trillion in 2025 capital expenditure, much of it for fibre infrastructure. Ralph Mupita, MTN Group CEO, cited a shift toward household and small-business broadband demand. Nigeria's broadband penetration reached 53.07 percent by January 2026, but fixed connections remain a fraction of the over 104 million mobile broadband subscriptions. MTN reported 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025, averaging 25 daily, due to vandalism. New ISP licences issued in early 2026, including to Amazon Kuiper, may bring competition, but MTN dominates the current fixed broadband landscape.
MTN isn't just leading Nigeria's fixed broadband race—it has become the race. With 110,564 of the 124,590 active connections, the company's dominance isn't accidental but the result of aggressive infrastructure investment and strategic rebranding under FibreX. While rivals either shrink or disappear from official tallies, MTN's push signals that real broadband expansion in Nigeria is now tied to one company's rollout speed and resilience against vandalism. For millions of Nigerians, reliable home internet depends less on policy or competition and more on how fast MTN can dig trenches and lay fibre across cities.
