As of March of this year, 5G connectivity subscriptions have increased steadily to account for 1.24% of all connections in the nation.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday revealed the most recent industry figures, which support this.
According to the report, there were 219 million active mobile connections in the nation overall. In light of this, it can be estimated that 2.7 million Nigerians have subscribed to the newest technology, based on the 1.24% 5G connections.
The country’s 5G penetration rate was 1.04% as of December 2023. This year, it rose to 1.11% in January and 1.18% in February.
As of March 2024, the majority of phone connections in Nigeria, according to NCC, were still using 2G. According to industry figures, at the end of the month, 2G accounted for 56.97% of all connections in Nigeria.
Statistics from the telecom sector also reveal that 9.04 percent of the 219 million subscriptions were on 3G, an upgraded network that was introduced in Nigeria in 2007. Video calls were made possible by 3G, which also offered far faster data transfer—up to 2 Mbps—and more bandwidth than the 2G network.
The Commission reports that as of March, 32.74% of 4G subscriptions, which the operators began to roll out in 2016, were still in place. Though as of May 2023, just 25.06% of connections were on 4G, the statistics indicate a consistent increase in 4G subscriptions.
In Nigeria, 5G has been made available by three mobile network operators: MTN, Airtel, and Mafab Communications. Though the service provides the best quality of experience when compared to 2G, 3G, and 4G, subscriptions have slowed considerably as they continue to spend in expanding it due to some causes, including the high cost of 5G devices.
Many people who would have loved to switch to a 5G connection are discouraged by the rising costs of cell phones, even if they are normally expensive in Nigeria due to skyrocketing inflation.
The issue of device compatibility, according to Mohammed Rufai, Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria, is the reason telecom operators have kept up their 2G and 3G networks while making investments in 4G and 5G.
The first 5G network in Nigeria was introduced by MTN in September 2022 and by Airtel in June 2023. Mafab Communications, which obtained a 5G license concurrently with MTN, was unable to launch the service until late 2023 when it started selling routers.
MTN is now growing its 5G service, which it first launched in seven cities—Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri.
When Airtel first launched its service in June of last year, it covered four states: Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Ogun. Within the first year of the launch, Airtel planned to cover six more states.
To meet the rollout requirements outlined in the license agreement, Mafab also debuted its 5G service in Abuja, promising that the first phase of the rollout will take place in six cities nationwide.
