5G adoption stalls at 3% as 4G retains majority share – NCC

Nigeria’s 5G rollout stays sluggish, with subscriptions standing at 3.17 per cent as of August 2025, whereas 4G accounts for 51.22 per cent of complete cell connections.

In keeping with the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC), 2G nonetheless represents between 38 and 40 per cent of subscriptions, whereas 3G utilization continues to say no.

The NCC knowledge present that 4G stays the spine of Nigeria’s digital financial system, pushed by broader system compatibility, wider protection and comparatively reasonably priced knowledge pricing.

In the meantime, cell community operators together with MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and T2 have prioritised increasing 4G infrastructure to fulfill rising demand for streaming, fintech, e-commerce and distant work companies.

Regardless of ongoing investments, 5G penetration stays restricted resulting from excessive system prices, overseas change volatility and infrastructure gaps.

In keeping with Dinesh Balsingh, Chief Govt Officer of Airtel Nigeria, the corporate’s accelerated rollout goals to attach the highest 20 cities to high-speed 5G inside the coming 12 months.

Business stakeholders keep that 4G will proceed to dominate within the medium time period, whilst operators deepen 5G deployment in main business hubs resembling Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan.