Nigeria's 5G Is Stuck in 3 Cities — And Even They Aren't Fully Covered" category: "Tech
Nigeria's 5G barely reaches beyond Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt — and even there, half of capable phones can't stay connected to it.
Nigeria talks a lot about going digital, but its 5G network is still barely off the ground.
A joint report by the NCC and Ookla, covering real-world mobile network experience from June 2025 to May 2026, found that millions of Nigerians own phones that can run 5G but still can't connect to it. When a 5G signal isn't available, these phones just fall back to 3G or 4G.
The demand is clearly there. Nigerians used 1.5 million terabytes of data in May 2026 alone, the highest ever recorded. And more people are buying smartphones every year, pushed by mobile banking, online learning, and everyday convenience. As of May 2026, 157.4 million Nigerians are online, 83% of all phone users. But only 4.49% of them are actually on a 5G network. Everyone else is stuck on 2G, 3G, or 4G.
Even the "good" cities aren't that good
Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt have the country's best 5G — 30 to 40% stronger than anywhere else in Nigeria. But even there, more than half of 5G-ready phones spend most of their time falling back to older networks because there simply isn't enough network density to hold a steady 5G connection. In real numbers, only about 46% of capable phones in Lagos actively use 5G, and 53.1% in Abuja — barely above half.
Part of the problem is that only MTN and Airtel currently run 5G in Nigeria. Mafab, the third licensed operator, still isn't live, and nobody knows when that will change.
What needs to happen
The report points to a few fixes: freeing up more spectrum for 5G, phasing out old 2G/3G networks on a clear timeline, and pushing telecom operators to build towers faster than they currently are. Network sharing — operators splitting the cost of towers and fibre instead of each building their own — is also floated as a way to close the gap faster, especially outside the big three cities.
Until that happens, most Nigerians paying for "high-speed" plans are still getting 4G speeds, even in cities that are supposed to be ahead of the curve.