By Mercy Peter
No fewer than six new Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been approved to operate in the country, effective January 1, 2026.
This has therefore increased the number of NCC’s authorised ISPs to 231 from 225.
The latest approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is aimed at intensifying competition in the industry.
The newly licensed operators are Intellivision Technologies Limited, Granet Technologies Limited, Fibre Sonic Limited, Dasol Solution Services Limited, Boost ISP Limited, and Amazon Kuiper Nigeria Limited.
Five of the companies are based in Lagos, while Granet Technologies Limited is headquartered in Owerri, Imo State, underscoring the continued concentration of broadband activity around Nigeria’s major commercial centres.
Industry data indicate that most ISPs remain clustered around Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, where demand is strongest and infrastructure is more developed.
The NCC said such approvals reflect Nigeria’s openness to global broadband providers and its commitment to improving connectivity in underserved and hard-to-reach areas.
NCC data has shown a rise in market concentration, with figures for the second quarter of 2025 showing that Spectranet, Starlink, and FibreOne accounted for about 65 per cent of all active ISP subscribers in Nigeria.
The current total ISP subscriptions stood at 313,713, with Spectranet leading at 99,520 customers, followed by Starlink with 66,523 and FibreOne with 37,117.
It is expected that competition will continue to deepen, while emphasis will continue to be on sustainability, regulation, and the future delivery of broadband services nationwide.
High right-of-way charges, security challenges, and the capital-intensive nature of network deployment have continued to limit expansion into less commercially viable regions, contributing to uneven broadband access nationwide.
Despite the challenges, Satellite broadband has emerged as a strong alternative due to its rapid deployment and wide coverage.
Starlink, which entered Nigeria in 2023, has grown to become the country’s second-largest ISP by subscriber numbers, drawing customers from several local providers.
However, the broadband providers face growing competition from mobile network operators, MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, whose flexible and competitively priced data offerings appeal to a wide customer base.
