About 6.38 million Nigerians are now on Fifth Generation (5G) network as of November 2025. This is a major upgrade to the network since the commercialisation of the wireless technology in Nigeria three years ago. Latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that while telecom operators have been able to connect 177.4 million active subscribers in Nigeria to various networks, 3.60 percent (about 6.387 million) are currently on the 5G network.
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. However, the 5G network connectivity in Nigeria has remained slow 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 while Airtel, which launched its commercial 5G service on June 19, 2023, is currently operational in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, Ogun, and Osun States. Even in the mentioned 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, not much can be said of Mafab Communications, which got a licence at the same period with MTN, especially in terms of investments and expansion.
According to The Guardian, in terms of technology penetration, the 4G network remained dominant with 51.99 percent reach, which showed that 92.2 million Nigerians are on the network. 2G network with 38.29 per cent penetration had 67.9 million subscribers while 3G with 6.13 percent 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 t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s 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.
