Recent findings from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicate that while 5G coverage in Nigeria has seen notable improvements, a significant divide in network quality persists between urban and rural areas. The Q4 2025 Industry Performance Report, released on March 13, 2025, reveals that subscribers in rural locations continue to experience inferior connectivity compared to their urban counterparts.
In urban centers like Lagos, the 5G coverage gap decreased from 70.9 percent in Q3 2025 to 55.4 percent in Q4 2025. Similarly, in Abuja, the gap shrank from 65.6 percent to 47.4 percent, indicating progress in the federal capital. During a webinar presentation of the report, Edoyemi Ogoh, Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the NCC, emphasized the ongoing disparity in network performance, particularly in download and upload speeds.
Specifically, the median download speed for urban areas reached 20.5 Mbps in Q4 2025, while rural areas lagged with a median speed of only 11 Mbps. This reflects a broader trend where rural download speeds dropped from 12.7 Mbps in Q3 2025 to 8 Mbps in the fourth quarter. Alarmingly, approximately 50 percent of Nigerian subscribers equipped with 5G devices remain without access to 5G services, primarily due to the absence of infrastructure in their regions.
From an operator’s standpoint, companies such as MTN and Airtel exhibit strong connectivity performance in urban settings, but Globacom and T2 are struggling to maintain comparable standards in rural areas. Ogoh noted that the increase in urban download speeds is attributed to the addition of over 2,800 sites in urban locations and the effective utilization of spectrum resources to mitigate network congestion.
The report highlights that MTN has demonstrated consistent national performance, offering high download and upload throughput along with favorable latency and jitter metrics. Airtel, while competitive in download speeds, still shows significant room for improvement regarding latency. Data indicates strong urban performance, driven by robust 4G infrastructure, yet this advantage diminishes as the sector transitions to 5G.
In contrast, T2’s analysis indicates variable performance, with sporadic high-speed peaks that are accompanied by challenges across different regions. The report suggests that Globacom faces performance issues, particularly related to latency and jitter, which adversely impact user experience.
Despite advancements, the report underscores that 4G technology remains the backbone of data connectivity in Nigeria, as 5G services are not meeting subscriber expectations due to a persistent coverage gap of 47.4 percent as of Q4 2025. As the industry continues to evolve, addressing these disparities will be crucial for ensuring equitable access to high-speed internet across the nation.
