The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reported improvements in 5G coverage and quality of service during the latter part of 2025, yet significant disparities in network performance remain between urban and rural areas, according to a recent industry report.
In the Q4 2025 Industry Performance Report, published on Wednesday, the NCC noted that the 5G coverage gap in Lagos decreased from 70.9 percent in Q3 to 55.4 percent in Q4, marking a positive shift.
Similarly, the gap in the nation’s capital, Abuja, reduced from 65.6 percent in Q3 to 47.4 percent in Q4 2025, indicating enhancements in coverage in the federal territory.
During a webinar on the findings, Edoyemi Ogoh, Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the NCC, emphasized the ongoing disparity in network quality, especially in download and upload speeds between urban and rural subscribers.
The report revealed that the median download speed for urban areas in Q4 2025 stood at approximately 20.5 Mbps; however, rural users experienced a much lower median speed of 11 Mbps.
Furthermore, a notable decline was observed in video streaming quality between these areas, with rural download speeds dropping from 12.7 Mbps in Q3 2025 to 8 Mbps in Q4 2025.
Approximately 50 percent of Nigerian subscribers equipped with 5G devices are unable to access 5G services, primarily due to the lack of coverage in their locations, which indicates a persistent gap in 5G accessibility, even with improvements in coverage metrics.
From the viewpoint of network operators, MTN, Airtel, and Globacom reported commendable performance in urban regions regarding connectivity latency. Conversely, Globacom and T2 were identified as needing improvements in rural connectivity to meet user expectations.
Ogoh attributed the rise in urban download speeds to the installation of more than 2,800 new sites, as well as a significant utilization of spectrums in these urban settings to alleviate network congestion.
On a national scale, the data from MTN indicated a solid overall performance while consistently providing robust download/upload rates and satisfactory latency and jitter metrics.
Airtel maintains a competitive edge in terms of download speeds, although there is room for enhancing latency. Urban areas displayed strong performance owing to extensive 4G infrastructure; however, this advantage appears to wane as the sector transitions to 5G.
Analysis of T2's performance revealed inconsistent results with sporadic high- speed peaks alongside regional challenges.
The report made clear that there are areas needing significant improvement to achieve better overall national quality of service.
Challenges were also highlighted regarding Globacom’s performance, primarily addressing issues with latency and jitter, which adversely affect the user experience.
Ultimately, 4G services continue to underpin data connectivity in Nigeria, while 5G currently falls short of subscriber expectations, reflective of an ongoing coverage gap reported to be 47.4 percent as of Q4 2025.
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