Three Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Spectranet, Elon Musk’s Starlink, and FibreOne are now dominating the ISP market in Nigeria as they account for 65% of customers actively connected to ISPs.
This comes amidst the contraction in the market, even as the country’s demand for broadband continues to surge.
Fresh Q2 2025 data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) points to a structural shake-up that has left many operators unable to keep pace with escalating competition and rising operational pressures.
According to NCC database, there are currently 224 registered ISPs, but only 133 were active as of Q2 2025, reflecting a market where nearly 40% of licensees have gone dormant.
Of the 133 that reported actively connected customers, only three companies accounted for 203,160 (65%) out of the total 313,713 customers, leaving the other 130 ISPs with 110,553 (35%) customers.
Spectranet maintains lead but with a slide
One of the oldest players in the market, Spectranet, held on to its position as the largest ISP by customer number. However, with two consecutive quarters of decline in customer numbers, the company may soon yield the position to Starlink, which is closely trailing.
- Spectranet’s active customers stood at 99,520, a decline from 103,252 customers it recorded in Q1 2025.
- Starlink in the second position inched closer to the top spot as its customer number grew from 59,509 in the first quarter of this year to 66,523 in the second quarter.
- FibreOne also bounced back from its customer loss in Q1 2025 to record 37,117 active customers in Q2 2025 and maintained its third position.
- Other ISPs with a significant number of customers include iPNX (15,636 customers); Tizeti (13,996 customers); Broadbased Communications (9,942 customers); and VDT Communications (5,325 customers).
Shrinking ISP market
Beyond the number of customers, the NCC had recently lamented the shrinking number of players in the ISP segment of the telecoms market, noting that many of the ISPs were not renewing their licences.
According to the immediate past Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, a total of 568 licensed ISPs had become inactive as of March 2022, citing anti-competition practices in the industry as a major challenge.
The former NCC boss added that other issues confronting the internet providers include inadequate spectrum, high price of bandwidth, high cost of Right of Way, and lack of good corporate governance practice in the companies.
Although ISPs in Nigeria have always complained about the unhealthy competition between them and the mobile operators, who are considered the big players, industry analysts said the situation got worse with the launch of 5G by MTN and Airtel, which has seen some enterprise customers of the ISPs dump their service providers for 5G routers.
The MNOs aggressive deployment of Fibre to the Home (FTTH) service is also posing a significant threat to the ISPs in the home broadband space.
MNOs dominating internet service provisioning
While mobile operators such as MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile can also be considered ISPs because they provide internet services alongside voice and other offerings permitted under their Unified Access Service Licence (UASL), core ISPs operate differently.
They are licensed to provide only internet services and are mostly indigenous companies.
- The MNOs have remained the dominant players in the internet market. For instance, while the total customer number for the 133 active ISPs stood at 313,713 at the end of Q2, the four GSM operators comprising MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and T2 had a combined 140.6 million active internet subscriptions at the same period.
- While ISPs customers are mainly businesses as opposed to individuals for MNOs, there are concerns that several businesses are also shifting to mobile services on the basis of cost and flexibility.
ISPs and Nigeria’s broadband ambition
According to the CEO of Content Oasis, Diseye Isoun, ISPs are crucial to realizing the goals of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025), through which the country aims to connect 70% of its population to high-speed internet by the end of this year, a target which is now set to be missed.
“ISPs are seen as peripheral, yet essential to the broadband ecosystem—especially for schools, hospitals, and local businesses,” he explained.
He noted that the issue lies in the lack of policy frameworks that support ISPs in providing these critical services.
Isoun supports a hybrid approach, drawing inspiration from Brazil’s Telebras. This state-supported initiative funds broadband access in educational and healthcare institutions through partnerships with private ISPs.
This model ensures minimum connectivity access where it is most needed, rather than relying solely on market forces.
On the reliance on mobile networks at the expense of ISPs, Isoun said:
“You can’t resolve connectivity issues in a university with just mobile internet. You need durable infrastructure, guaranteed service levels, and local support when issues arise.”
Sharing a similar perspective, the Chief Executive Officer of VDT Communications Limited, Mr. David Omoniyi, said the ISPs have a huge role to play in the realisation of Nigeria’s broadband ambition, but expressed worry that many of the ISPs are disappearing from the scene.
“Indigenous ISPs are disappearing; more than 200 have been licensed so far by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), but only a few of them are still operating. They are largely SMEs and need support to survive,” he said.
While calling for government intervention, Omoniyi added that the implementation of the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 requires the input of every stakeholder to succeed; hence, ISPs, which play a significant role in delivering services to the last mile, must be supported.
