Nigeria’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) market is consolidating around three major players, Spectranet, Starlink and FibreOne, who now control 65 per cent of all actively connected ISP customers, according to new Q2 2025 data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This dominance comes at a time when the ISP segment is shrinking, even as national demand for broadband continues to surge.
Market Shrinks as Operators Go Dormant
Although the NCC has 224 licensed ISPs, only 133 were active in Q2 2025. This means about 40 per cent of licensees are inactive, highlighting a deepening structural crisis in the segment.
Out of the 313,713 total active ISP customers, the top three providers account for 203,160 users, leaving the remaining 130 ISPs to share just 110,553 customers.
Spectranet Leads, Starlink Closes In
Spectranet remains the largest ISP by customer base, but its dominance is slipping:
- Spectranet: 99,520 customers (down from 103,252 in Q1 2025)
- Starlink: 66,523 customers (up from 59,509 in Q1 2025)
- FibreOne: 37,117 customers (up from a Q1 decline)
Other notable ISPs include iPNX (15,636 customers), Tizeti (13,996), Broadbased Communications (9,942), and VDT Communications (5,325).
Starlink’s rapid growth puts it on track to challenge Spectranet for the number-one position within months.
Why the ISP Market Is Shrinking
The NCC has repeatedly raised concerns about the declining number of active ISPs. Former NCC boss, Prof. Umar Danbatta, revealed that 568 licensed ISPs had become inactive as of March 2022, citing:
- Anti-competitive practices
- Limited spectrum availability
- High bandwidth costs
- Expensive Right of Way (RoW) charges
- Weak corporate governance
Industry analysts say competition intensified sharply after MTN and Airtel launched 5G services, prompting many enterprise customers, once the core base of ISPs, to switch to 5G routers.
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have further complicated the ISP landscape by pushing aggressively into Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), traditionally a stronghold of ISPs.
MNOs Still Dominate Internet Access
Despite the presence of 133 active ISPs, their combined customer base of 313,713 is tiny compared to the 140.6 million active internet subscriptions recorded by the four GSM operators (MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile) in the same period.
Analysts warn that even business clients, once loyal to ISPs, are increasingly opting for mobile internet plans due to lower costs, better flexibility and wider coverage.
Experts argue that ISPs remain central to Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020–2025), which targets 70 per cent population coverage by the end of 2025, a goal now unlikely to be met.
