As of November, about 6.38 million Nigerians have had access to the Fifth Generation (5G) network, which is in its third year of commercial operations in Nigeria.
 
Latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that while telecom operators have been able to connect 177.4 million active Nigerians to various networks, 3.60 per cent, or 6.387 million, are currently on the 5G network.
 
Indeed, three years into the 5G era, Nigeria has seen nearly $1 billion in core spectrum licensing payments, while hundreds of millions of dollars in reported capital expenditures by MTN and Airtel have been allocated for site build-out and backhaul infrastructure.
 
In terms of coverage, 5G remains sluggish in catching up with other technology variants, including 4G, 3G, and 2G. MTN’s 5G network is available in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, Oyo, Kano, Imo, Borno, Ogun, Delta, Enugu, and Edo states. Meanwhile, Airtel, which launched its commercial 5G service on June 19, 2023, is currently operational in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, Ogun, and Osun states.
 
Even in those states, the services are still limited to urban areas, leaving rural and semi-urban areas to rely on lower-quality networks. This shows a clear digital divide where 5G is largely an exclusive urban offering due to high costs and limited deployment beyond major cities.
 
The sustained investment pledges, particularly by MTN and Airtel, indicate that despite the economic challenges, operators view 5G as the necessary long-term platform for Nigeria’s digital economy. For now, nothing much can be said of Mafab Communications, especially in terms of investments and expansion. Mafab got a license at the same time as MTN.
 
In terms of technology penetration, checks by The Guardian showed that the 4G network remained dominant with 51.99 per cent reach, which showed that 92.2 million Nigerians are on the network.  2G with 38.29 per cent penetration had 67.9 million subscribers, while 3G with 6.13 per cent had 10.8 million users as of November. It should be noted that the multi-SIM system in Nigeria means that there is a high possibility of a subscriber belonging to at least three of the networks at the same time.
 
Meanwhile, this milestone in advanced network adoption coincides with an unprecedented explosion in national data consumption, despite an increase in tariffs, subsequently placing sustained pressure on the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.
 
The figures underscored a deepening reliance on digital services, driven by a growing appetite for video streaming, cloud applications, and the continued expansion of the digital economy.
 
According to recent data from the NCC, national mobile data traffic has reached an all-time high monthly record, reflecting a year of relentless growth.
Total national data consumption is firmly on track to exceed 13 million terabytes (TB) by the end of the year, representing a yearly growth of roughly 35 per cent over the previous year.
 
Data usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in a single recent month, a clear indicator that Internet connectivity is fast becoming a necessity for both business and leisure.
 
The fact is that while 4G remained the backbone of Nigeria’s connectivity, the incremental deployment of 5G in major urban centres is strategically carrying a disproportionate amount of high-capacity traffic. The superior speed and lower latency of 5G are enabling data-intensive services that were previously constrained by network capacity.
 
In an industry report produced by the NCC in partnership with Ookla, a global leader in network intelligence and performance measurement, a substantial gap exists between the number of 5G-capable devices and actual 5G network access.
 
The report noted that in Lagos, approximately 70.9 per cent of 5G-capable devices cannot connect to any 5G network. In Abuja, the gap is similar, affecting around 65.6 per cent of 5G-ready devices.

According to the report, while overall national network capacity for data services is generally strong, major urban areas such as Lagos and Abuja experience significant capacity strain and congestion due to the high density of active users. The report stated that this leads to dropped video calls and buffering during streaming, failed mobile payments, and slow download speeds.
 
The report highlighted varied performance among network operators. It noted that MTN was identified as having a strong national performance profile, excelling in download/upload speeds, latency, and jitter. Airtel maintained a competitive edge in urban 4G download speeds, but the report noted a performance dip as the sector transitions toward 5G, with latency needing improvement.
 
The report noted that a stark divide persists in network quality between urban centres and rural regions, with speeds in underserved areas up to 50 per cent lower, hindering digital inclusion.