About 55.4% of Lagos State remains without 5G coverage as of Q4 2025, even as deployment steadily improves, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The figures, from the NCC’s Q4 2025 Industry Performance Report, show that three years after MTN launched the first 5G network in Nigeria—followed by Airtel and Mafab Communications—coverage gaps persist in major cities, including Lagos and Abuja.
Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Edoyemi Ogoh, noted that where 5G is available, user experience meets expectations set during the spectrum auction, offering significantly higher speeds and better overall performance compared to older technologies. However, the limited network footprint continues to restrict its impact.
“In Lagos, the coverage gap is about 55.4%, while Abuja’s stands at 47.4%,” Ogoh said.
While gaps remain wide, progress is evident. In Q3 2025, Lagos had a 70.9% coverage gap, which fell to 55.4% in Q4. Abuja saw a similar improvement, from 65.6% to 47.4%.
Despite the 5G rollout, 4G remains the backbone of Nigeria’s data ecosystem. Ogoh explained that enhanced 4G networks, strengthened by spectrum trading and backbone upgrades, continue to serve the majority of users, especially in areas with limited 5G availability.
The report also highlights gains in road network coverage, with 326 kilometres of previously unserved roads now connected—primarily via 4G. 97% of locations with very good service quality on Nigerian roads were powered by 4G, underscoring its critical role in mobility, security, and communication.
As of November 2025, 4G accounted for 51.99% of Nigeria’s 177 million active connections, while 5G stood at 3.6%. 2G still held a significant share at 38.29%, with 3G at 6.13%.
To prepare for growing data demand, the NCC has unveiled a new spectrum roadmap aimed at expanding broadband capacity and attracting investment. GSMA Intelligence projects average mobile data usage per connection in Nigeria to rise from 5.8 GB per month in 2025 to 12 GB by 2030, with active subscriptions growing from 171 million to 220 million. This surge is expected to push total national mobile data traffic from 11.9 exabytes in 2025 to 31.7 exabytes by 2030.
