The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has released its much-anticipated Industry Performance Report for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, marking a landmark achievement as national broadband penetration officially surpassed the 50 per cent threshold.
The report, titled “Turning Macroeconomic Stability into Sustainable Growth,” detailed a resilient telecommunications sector that continues to serve as a fundamental pillar of the Nigerian economy despite persistent infrastructure and macroeconomic headwinds.
According to data presented by the Commission on Wednesday, broadband subscriptions reached approximately 109.6 million by December 2025, resulting in a penetration rate of 50.58 per cent. This represents a significant leap from the 44.43 per cent recorded at the end of 2024, signalling a robust recovery in investment momentum and a deepening of the nation’s digital footprint.
5G Reality: Coverage Gaps and the 50% Access Hurdle
While the report celebrated the expansion of high-speed infrastructure, it highlighted a stark reality for the burgeoning 5G market. Engr. Edoyemi Ogoh, Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the NCC, disclosed that approximately 50 percent of Nigerian subscribers who own 5G-enabled devices still lack access to 5G services.
“This indicates that while device readiness is growing, there is still a significant gap in 5G coverage,” Ogoh stated. The report noted that 5G remains largely an urban phenomenon, with coverage gaps in Lagos and Abuja reducing to 55.4 percent and 47.4 percent respectively in Q4. However, the Commission observed that 4G remains the “backbone” of Nigeria’s data ecosystem, accounting for 97 percent of quality service experiences on major roads.
The Urban-Rural Divide and Network Stability
A recurring theme in the Q4 report is the widening disparity between urban and rural connectivity. Median download speeds in urban centres like Lagos and Abuja hit 35.52 Mbps, outperforming rural regions (27.67 Mbps) by roughly 22 per cent.
Furthermore, the NCC warned that “headline speeds are no longer the only metric that matters.” For a modern economy reliant on video conferencing and remote work, latency and jitter have become critical. The report noted that while MTN led the pack in urban latency performance, operators like Globacom and 9mobile (T2) still face challenges in rural connectivity, where download speeds in some areas dropped from 12.7 Mbps in Q3 to 8 Mbps in Q4.
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NCC also observed that carrier choice often matters more than location. It noted that MTN’s rural performance (15.8 Mbps)
outperform Glo’s urban performance (9.5 Mbps).
On a general outlook, the download speed in urban areas is 20.5 Mbps while the rural areas recorded 11.0 Mbps. This gap further reveals that the internet in the urban areas is 40% faster than in rural areas. For the upload speed, urban areas hit 10.5 Mbps, outperforming rural areas with a median upload speed of 6.1 Mbps, a 65% advantage for urban users. “The digital economy (sending files, video calls) is stifled outside cities”, NCC decried.
For latency responsiveness, the commission noted that rural latency is 8.0 ms higher (slower) than urban, impacting real-time calls.
Infrastructure Growth and Economic Impact
The sector’s rebound is supported by an aggressive infrastructure push, with operators deploying over 2,800 new and upgraded sites across the country in 2025. This investment helped drive a massive 140 percent surge in monthly mobile data consumption, which hit 1.23 million terabytes by the end of the year.
The telecommunications industry maintained its status as a top-three contributor to the national GDP, contributing approximately 14.40 percent in real terms. The NCC attributed this growth to the accelerating transition from legacy 2G and 3G networks to data-heavy 4G and 5G operations, fueled by the booming creator economy and digital finance.
Regulatory Outlook for 2026
Looking ahead, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to transparency and consumer protection. He noted that the NCC would operationalize a revised Corporate Governance Code in 2026 to ensure service providers remain accountable for avoidable outages and inconsistent data speeds.
To bridge the remaining gaps, the NCC revealed plans to utilize the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to support satellite broadband, targeting 23 million Nigerians who remain offline in hard-to-reach communities. “The gains recorded in 2025 show what is possible. Our task for 2026 is to close the remaining 40 per cent performance gap and raise service standards across the board,” the regulator concluded.
