The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has released a trio of critical performance assessments—the Urban & Rural Performance Report, the 5G Reality Check, and the Network Performance & 5G Report—for the fourth quarter of 2025 Industry Performance Reports.
While the data showcases a nation rapidly adopting high-end technology, it unearths a troubling “connectivity paradox”: despite rising device ownership, half of Nigeria’s 5G users cannot access the networks they are paying for, and the speed gap between cities and villages continues to widen.
The 5G Reality Check: A Coverage Crisis for Device Owners
The most striking revelation in the Q4 report is the “5G Reality Check: Closing the Gap between Coverage and Usage,” which highlights a massive misalignment between consumer hardware and network availability. According to the Commission, approximately 50 percent of Nigerian subscribers who possess 5G-enabled devices are currently unable to access 5G services.
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This “access gap” is attributed to the slow pace of base station densification. While urban residents have invested heavily in 5G-ready smartphones, the physical infrastructure required to broadcast these high-frequency signals remains concentrated in elite pockets of Tier-1 cities. The report notes that 5G coverage in Lagos and Abuja stood at 55.4% and 47.4% respectively, meaning even in the nation’s most developed hubs, nearly half the population remains in 5G “dead zones.”
The Great Divide: Urban Speeds vs. Rural Realities
The Urban & Rural Performance Report further reinforces the inequality of the Nigerian digital experience. In Q4 2025, median download speeds in urban centers like Lagos and Abuja hit 35.52 Mbps. In contrast, rural regions lagged significantly behind with an average of 27.67 Mbps—a performance deficit of roughly 22 percent.
More concerning is the data showing a decline in quality for the most vulnerable users. In several underserved rural areas, download speeds reportedly plummeted from 12.7 Mbps in Q3 to just 8 Mbps in Q4. The NCC attributed this to “backhaul congestion” and a lack of fiber-to-the-tower investment in the hinterlands, leaving rural dwellers to rely on overstretched 3G and 4G legacy systems while urbanites transition to ultra-fast fiber-backed networks.
Network Performance: 4G Remains the National Bedrock
Despite the hype surrounding 5G, the Network Performance Report confirms that 4G LTE remains the true workhorse of the Nigerian economy. The report indicates that 4G accounts for 97 percent of “quality service experiences” on major highways and interstate roads.
While 5G offers superior peaks, its reliability is currently hampered by high latency and “jitter” during handovers between cells. In contrast, 4G stability has improved, providing the necessary backbone for the creator economy and mobile banking. However, the report warns that the surge in data consumption—which hit 1.23 million terabytes this quarter—is beginning to strain even the 4G infrastructure, leading to a rise in “dropped data sessions” during peak hours in dense urban areas.
Operators Performance
MTN stands out for its network consistency, with rural download speeds averaging 15.8 Mbps—a figure that often rivals or exceeds the urban performance of its competitors. Airtel maintains a balanced middle ground, delivering a predictable experience with 15.9 Mbps in cities and 10.6 Mbps in rural areas. Interestingly, T2 emerged as a leader in localized rural capacity, recording a high median download speed of 24.9 Mbps in the hinterlands—surpassing its own urban average of 18.5 Mbps and suggesting a targeted infrastructure play in specific regional markets. Meanwhile, Glo continues to serve as a crucial provider of baseline connectivity, maintaining a steady and uniform speed of 9.5 Mbps across both urban and rural environments to ensure nationwide availability.
Regulatory Outlook: Moving Beyond ‘Nominal’ Coverage
Reacting to the findings, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, stated that the Commission is shifting its regulatory gaze from “nominal coverage” to “Quality of Experience (QoE).”
“It is no longer enough to have a signal bar on a phone; the speed and reliability must match the technology being advertised,” Maida noted. The Commission has vowed to use the 2026 fiscal year to incentivize operators to prioritize rural network optimization and to accelerate the deployment of 5G base stations in underserved urban outskirts to ensure that the 50 percent of “stranded” 5G device owners can finally enjoy the services they have invested in.
