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As Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) works with various stakeholders toward ensuring a more robust and enduring 5G network deployment in the country, all hands must be on deck to collaborate with the regulator in its efforts to ensure harnessing the full potential of the socio-economic benefits inherent in the ubiquitous deployment of the new technology in Nigeria.
Nigeria kick-started its fifth generation (5G) network deployment journey in 2021 with the transparent auction of slots in the 3.5Ghz spectrum band to licensees. Since then, Nigeria has auspiciously begun the historic 5G journey aimed at ensuring higher network speed, better connectivity and higher reliability in telecom service provisioning across the country.
However, industry observers and available data in the industry suggest that while Nigeria is making profound efforts to deepen 5G services across the country through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country, nonetheless, still has to catch up with other developed countries in terms of implementation of the 5G network deployment and availability to spur expected economic development.
The 5G technology, which came after its earlier generations of 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, enhances sharing and transferring of information faster than the previous networks. It also offers new possibilities for connectivity and connected devices, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality.
While the more advanced nations of the world have been reaping the benefits of 5G, Nigeria is still battling with the teething hurdles inevitable to comfortably move to the new global wireless standard. Those nations have gone far to utilize 5G for the creation of “smart cities”, where communities are now run on nearly total 5G connectivity.
In those jurisdictions, nearly everything is on a 5G network, including the homes, office buildings, and roads. There, 5G is used for processing data, sensor information, and the physical world around them, and then go further to connect them to computing technology that processes the information and send out actions to devices.
With 5G technology, those countries have been able to create connectivity with higher data rates that enhance streaming video, virtual reality, and augmented reality on smartphones.
In essence, they are able to share information and perform coordinated tasks, services, and applications aimed at enhancing quality of life across many different sectors, such as education, commerce, transportation, national defence and security, healthcare, and entertainment, among others.
Despite some challenges already identified with 5G in the developed nations, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's towards having "smart cities" fully established in Nigeria that will virtually run on 5G technology and make lives much better for Nigerians like other citizens in similar smart cities across the globe.
Dissecting NCC’s 2025 Network Performance Report
While the emerging 5G technology is increasingly more visible in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja and Lagos State, the Executive Vice-Chairman of (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, launching the NCC's Quarter 4 2025 Network Performance Report in Abuja, noted that the 5G technology in Nigeria and the general telecommunications sector have improved across the country in the fourth quarter of 2025, if compared with the progress made in the third quarter of 2025.
With steady expansion of 5G technology in the country, the report released said the current experience is largely defined by the consistency of 4G networks and the ongoing presence of 2G and 3G in rural regions.
On technology-driven outcomes, the NCC report noted that digital experiences are heavily influenced by the specific technology available (4G/5G vs. 2G/3G) in each area, stressing that 5G offers the best experience with page load times of 2-3 seconds if compared with the page load of 2G/3G which is more than 10 seconds.
The report also added that, regarding geographic trends, urban centers such as Lagos and Abuja outperform rural regions by approximately 22 per cent in download speeds. According to the report, urban centres record 35.52 megabit per second (Mbps) while rural areas have 27.67 Mbps."
Device readiness outpacing infrastructure
The report also disclosed that device readiness is outpacing infrastructure. According to the report, in Lagos, effective 5G coverage is only approximately 27 per cent, and in Abuja, it sits at 31 per cent, leaving many capable devices on 4G.
"Performance varies wildly by provider. While the market leader keeps the 5G gap around 50 per cent, other major operators show gaps as high as 83 per cent to 99 per cent in key cities," says the report. Noting that the location dictates the speed, the report said, "urban centers like Lagos and FCT consistently outperform rural regions by 30-40 per cent across key performance metrics.”
Revealing that the average 5G coverage gap in Lagos is 55.4 per cent, the report said this made a 5G phone in Lagos not to be able to connect to 5G, more than half the time. This despite 499 areas in the city flagged as "critical zones", corresponding to over 70% of mostly high-density commercial zones in Lagos.
In Abuja, the NCC report notes that it records an average 5G gap of 47.4 per cent, which is slightly better than Lagos, but nearly half of potential connections still fail. It also disclosed that only 31 per cent of 5G-capable devices in the federal capital are successfully connected to 5G networks.
On the future in the industry, the NCC report urged for optimisation of urban 5G to focus on existing sites in Lagos/Abuja towards lowering the 55 pe cent gap. It also maintained that having 5G is not enough, but it must be usable for the over 50 per cent of users currently blocked.
The report also pushed for increased targeted investments in rural areas and states with vast rural communities to close the 40 per cent regional performance divide. To speed up attainment of 5G, the report urged regulators to retire legacy technology and accelerate the phase-out of 2G/3G to free up spectrum for 4G/5G, which will boost modern user experience.
True 5G experience and idle infrastructure
Meanwhile, the NCC report also called for shifting regulatory focus to latency and jitter, since stability is now a stronger predictor of user satisfaction than peak speed. In its executive summary, the report noted that having the infrastructure for 5G is only half the battle, as a true 5G experience means high speeds, low delay, and seamless connectivity.
The report also noted that the 5G infrastructure and tower are sitting idle in many areas, while the experience is yet to catch up, as it analysed how the four major operators are managing this transition. For MTN, the telco currently shows the smallest gap, meaning its deployed infrastructure is closely aligned with actual user experience.
In the case of Airtel, the report shows mid-range performance. The gap noted with Airtel is often due to a lack of compatible devices in certain areas, not just the network itself, according to the report. Glo shows a higher gap, indicating that while infrastructure exists, it is not yet consistently translating into sustained high-speed usage for all customers while in the case of T2, high variability was reported, as in some local government areas (LGAs), its service is excellent; in others, the gap is critical, limiting the advanced connectivity experience.
Priority zones where investment is needed
The NCC report identifies specific LGAs that are "Priority Zones" for investment. These are areas with high population density but a high "Deployment Score", meaning they need a network upgrade.
Speaking during the Q4 report launch, Maida, said the video Quality of Experience (QoE) gap between urban and rural areas has narrowed, while the strength of 4G backbone has continued to improve.
“Today’s engagement reflects our commitment to transparent, data-driven regulation and the continuous improvement of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. Through our collaboration with Ookla, we are providing independent insights into real-world network performance and the lived experience of Nigerians across cities, rural communities, highways, and emerging 5G zones. It is in this context that we have released the Q4 2025 Network Performance Reports,” the EVC said.
According to Maida, "These reports enable us to track progress, identify gaps, and guide targeted regulatory interventions, ranging from spectrum optimisation and infrastructure upgrades to quality-of-service enforcement and the expansion of rural connectivity.
He stated that the data shows clear and steady improvements in network quality, particularly in median download speeds across both urban and rural areas, especially when compared to Q3 performance. "Notably, the video Quality of Experience gap between urban and rural areas has narrowed, and the strength of our 4G backbone continues to improve,” he said.
Ongoing engagement to tackle obstacles
The EVC further stated that the improvement in Q4 is not without challenges, especially seen in gaps in 5G services and inequalities in upload speeds and to overcome the challenges, Maida said that the NCC is actively engaging with operators to tackle the issues, including gaps in mobile service coverage.
On the new sites, he said "In 2025, over $1 billion in industry investment resulted in the deployment of more than 2,850 new sites to expand both coverage and capacity nationwide. Much of the progress reflected in today’s reports is a direct outcome of these investments.”
He also said that NCC has secured commitments from operators to exceed their 2025 investment levels in 2026, with infrastructure investments continuing in earnest. "We look forward to continued collaboration with industry stakeholders as we translate these insights into better connectivity, improved service quality, and a more inclusive digital future for all Nigerians.” the EVC stated
Also speaking during the launch of the 5G Network Performance Report, the Head of Public Affairs at NCC, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, that "the solutions being deployed reflects the investments and innovations shaping the sector, recognises improvements in quality of service and experience, and supports industry resilience."
Moving Forward
Industry pundits have posited that with full commitment of all stakeholders to scale present hurdles to implementation of 5G technology in Nigeria, it will really be nice for Nigeria to quickly get it right for Nigerians and other residents to start enjoying what 5G technology offers to others abroad.
In Nigeria, 5G network would open the possibility of eliminating the need for traffic lights, and decreasing traffic jams. This means that when all vehicles are connected by 5G, then one person’s car would be told to speed up, while cars in the opposite direction of traffic that are crossing the intersection would be told to slow down. It will also smoothly ensure that traffic can interweave without ever having to stop.
On the home front, 5G can also be deployed in Nigeria to make homes more comfortable and more efficient. Without touching a switch, 5G can make Nigerians turn their homes into a smart building. With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cell phone access, the 5G technology will connect and pass information to ovens, refrigerators, heating and cooling systems, home lighting systems, and garage doors.
Industry stakeholders, who have also applauded the level of drive and collaboration the Commission is putting into achieving improved 5G network, have called on relevant stakeholders to ensure all hands are on deck to make robust 5G network a reality across Nigeria and make life better for everyone.
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