MTN FibreX records 100,000 users in Nigeria’s internet market

MTN Nigeria has strengthened its dominance in Nigeria’s fixed wired internet space, with its FibreX service surpassing 100,000 subscribers and capturing nearly 90% of the market.

The company’s fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) offering now boasts 110,564 users after recording a 24% growth in February 2026 alone, a milestone that marks its first time crossing the 100,000 threshold.

Industry data shows that FibreX currently controls an overwhelming 88.7% share of Nigeria’s fixed wired subscriber base, far ahead of competitors in a segment that remains relatively small but strategically important.

The surge follows MTN’s April 2025 rebranding of its fibre broadband service to FibreX, a move that appears to have significantly boosted adoption and market visibility.

From slow adoption to explosive growth

Before the rebrand, MTN’s fixed broadband service struggled to scale, maintaining a modest subscriber range of between 2,000 and 9,000 users over two years.

However, between April 2025 and February 2026, the service added more than 95,000 new users, a staggering 639% growth that underscores rising demand for high-speed internet in urban Nigeria.

The appeal is largely driven by FibreX’s promise of faster and more reliable connectivity, offering speeds of up to 1Gbps, unlimited data, and low latency suited for gaming, remote work, and cloud-based services.

As digital consumption continues to rise, more households are turning to fibre connections to support data-heavy activities like streaming, large file transfers, and smart home integration.

Despite the rapid growth, the competitive landscape remains thin. Other providers, including ipNX and SWIFT Networks, trail significantly in subscriber numbers, highlighting MTN’s current lead.

Broadband ambitions and national targets

MTN’s expansion strategy goes beyond market share, tying into broader national efforts to improve internet penetration and digital infrastructure.

The company has set an ambitious goal of connecting over 8 million homes by 2028, positioning fibre broadband as a key driver of Nigeria’s digital economy.

This aligns with the government’s National Broadband Plan and initiatives like Project BRIDGE, which aim to expand fibre-optic coverage across the country.

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Although Nigeria missed its 70% broadband penetration target for 2025, current figures hover around 53.86%, indicating both progress and significant room for growth.

MTN’s Chief Broadband Officer, Egerton Idehen, recently noted that the company is pursuing both short-term and long-term expansion strategies, extending FibreX to new communities while deepening coverage in existing locations.

As fibre infrastructure continues to expand, industry watchers say the next phase of competition will depend not just on coverage, but on affordability, service quality, and how quickly providers can scale beyond major urban centres.

For now, however, MTN remains firmly in control of Nigeria’s fixed wired broadband market.