Edoyemi Ogoh, the NCC’s director of technical standards and network integrity, shared the findings on Wednesday while presenting the commission’s fourth-quarter 2025 industry performance report. According to him, the gap between device ownership and network availability remains a major barrier to nationwide adoption.
“About 50 percent of Nigerians with 5G devices don’t have access to 5G service,” Ogoh said. “This means there is no 5G service in the areas where they want to basically utilise it. So, there is still a gap in the 5G coverage.”
Urban-Rural Divide Deepens
The report also highlighted a widening digital divide between urban and rural communities. Users in cities enjoy better network performance, while rural areas continue to lag, particularly in latency—the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another.
Ogoh noted that major operators such as MTN, Airtel, and Glo are performing relatively well in urban centres, with MTN leading in latency performance. However, rural performance remains inconsistent, with some networks still struggling to deliver acceptable speeds.
“MTN and Airtel are doing pretty okay in rural areas, but Glo and T2 still need to improve,” he said.
High latency, the NCC warned, affects everyday online activities such as video streaming, video calls, and uploading content—problems that are particularly acute for rural users.
Speed Improvements Still Uneven
While urban areas recorded modest improvements in download speeds, rural communities experienced declines. NCC data shows that the median download speed in urban centres rose from 19 Mbps in Q3 2025 to 20.5 Mbps in Q4. Meanwhile, rural download speeds declined over the same period.
The gap in upload speeds also widened, increasing from 3.5 Mbps in Q3 to 4.4 Mbps in Q4.
“We are seeing more improvements or faster improvements in urban centres compared to rural areas,” Ogoh said. He attributed the disparity to infrastructure expansion that has mainly favoured cities. Over the last year, operators added more than 2,800 sites, most of which were deployed in urban locations.
5G Still Underperforming
Although 5G can deliver significantly faster speeds where available, the NCC said the service is still underperforming relative to expectations because coverage remains limited. Many users can access 5G only in specific locations—such as offices—while experiencing weaker service at home.
Coverage Gaps Narrow in Lagos and Abuja
There are, however, signs of progress. The NCC reported that 5G coverage gaps in Lagos reduced from 70.9% in Q3 to 55.4% in Q4. Abuja also recorded improvement, with gaps declining from 65.6% to 47.4% during the same period.
“Obviously, there is still some gap to go, but we are in the right direction,” Ogoh said.
What Needs to Change
To close the gap and improve performance nationwide, the NCC said telecom operators must accelerate 5G expansion, especially outside major cities. The commission also urged operators to:
- Deploy more infrastructure in rural areas
- Upgrade existing rural sites from 2G and 3G to at least 4G
- Address persistent high latency issues
Without these improvements, the promise of 5G in Nigeria may remain largely confined to select urban zones, leaving millions of users unable to fully benefit from next-generation connectivity.