Telecom: 5G Adoption Remains Low Despite Huge Investments

Nigeria’s 5G adoption has remained low despite telecommunications operators’ investments in expanding network infrastructure, industry data showed, with fifth-generation technology accounting for 4.49 per cent of mobile connections as of May 2026.

The figure, contained in the latest statistics published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), underscored the gap between investment in next-generation infrastructure and consumer uptake.

The NCC data, updated on July 31, 2026, showed that 4G accounted for 54.30 per cent of mobile connections, while 2G and 3G accounted for 36.12 per cent and 5.10 per cent respectively.

Four years after commercial 5G services began in Nigeria, the technology accounted for a single-digit share of the mobile market, despite rising data usage and smartphone penetration.

Nigeria had 189.68 million active mobile subscriptions in May 2026, with MTN accounting for 96.98 million, Airtel for 65.45 million, Globacom for 23.47 million, and T2 for 3.54 million.

Broadband subscriptions stood at about 122 million, while monthly data consumption reached 1.5 million terabytes.

The slow pace of 5G adoption raised questions about whether operators could realise returns on their investments in next-generation connectivity, amid high infrastructure, energy, and deployment costs.

Digital infrastructure expert Obinna Adumike said the economics of network deployment remained a major factor influencing the transition to 5G.

He said telecom companies had to balance business expenditure against returns and business viability.

Adumike said deploying 5G required substantial investment in new equipment, while operators were still trying to recoup the costs of existing infrastructure.

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) executive secretary, Ajibola Olude, said right-of-way charges and state-level levies had raised the cost of deploying connectivity.

He said some states that claimed to offer free right-of-way added development charges, education levies and infrastructure fees.

For 5G, such additional costs were significant because operators required more infrastructure beyond spectrum.

In December 2021, MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications won the NCC’s 3.5GHz spectrum auction, each paying $273.6 million for a 100MHz lot, while MTN paid an additional $15.9 million at assignment.

Airtel also obtained 5G spectrum, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) identified MTN, Mafab and Airtel among operators assigned spectrum in the 3.5GHz band.

Spectrum acquisition, however, was only the beginning of the investment required to provide 5G services.

Operators also had to deploy additional base stations, radios, fibre transmission, power systems, cooling equipment and other infrastructure while maintaining 2G, 3G and 4G networks.

MTN Nigeria’s 2025 results showed that capital expenditure, excluding leases, more than doubled to about N1 trillion.

The operator’s subscriber base rose 7.9 per cent to 87.3 million, while active data users increased 11.6 per cent to 53.2 million.

MTN reported service revenue of N5.2 trillion and profit after tax of N1.1 trillion.

Airtel Africa added more than 1,050 new sites and 657 5G sites during the year, while smartphone penetration in its Nigerian operation increased to 54.9 per cent.

Data usage per customer rose by 30.8 per cent to 11GB per month.

Despite these investments, the NCC data showed that 5G’s share of mobile connections rose only from 3.17 per cent in August 2025 to 4.49 per cent in May 2026.

The NCC’s Q2 2026 publications included a 5G Network Performance and Reality report examining actual 4G and 5G usage and the gap between device readiness and effective 5G access.

Reports based on the NCC’s analysis indicated that Lagos had a 5G coverage gap of about 70.9 per cent, while Abuja recorded about 65.6 per cent, with more than 57,000 5G-capable devices in the two cities unable to connect to a 5G network.

This showed that owning a 5G-enabled smartphone was not the same as having access to a 5G signal.

The NCC’s Q2 2026 publications identified the gap between device readiness and access as an area requiring attention, while its urban-rural assessment showed continuing differences in network performance and technology usage.

The challenge shifted from whether Nigerians wanted faster connectivity to whether operators could deploy 5G infrastructure economically and at scale.

Nigeria’s uneven fibre infrastructure, frequent fibre cuts, security challenges and right-of-way disputes had added to operators’ deployment costs.

The sector spends more than $350 million annually on diesel, consuming over 480 million litres to power network infrastructure amid unreliable electricity supply.

High energy costs created direct competition for capital between maintaining existing networks and expanding next-generation infrastructure.

Another factor slowing 5G adoption was the continued commercial strength of 4G.

For many Nigerians, 4G remained adequate for mobile banking, social media, video streaming, e-commerce, remote work and online education.

Operators therefore had limited incentives to deploy expensive 5G infrastructure in communities where consumers were unwilling or unable to pay a premium for faster connectivity.

Nigerians consumed a record 1.5 million terabytes of data in May 2026, while broadband subscriptions rose to about 122 million.

Data was becoming a more important source of revenue for operators, as MTN reported group-level data revenue growth of 35.4 per cent in Q1 2026, compared with 4.7 per cent growth in voice revenue.

The trends pointed to a commercial opportunity for 5G as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, streaming, Internet of Things applications and enterprise digital services expanded.

Nigeria had assigned 5G spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, but additional bands could become important as demand for network capacity increased.

Adumike said spectrum pricing and allocation should leave operators with sufficient capital for deployment.

He said that if spectrum was priced too aggressively, operators would have less capital available for deployment.

Commercially attractive locations such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt were more likely to attract investment because they had concentrated businesses, higher-income consumers and greater data traffic.

Rural communities, where purchasing power was lower and infrastructure costs were higher, faced a more difficult business case.

Telecom stakeholders said Nigeria’s 5G strategy should focus on reducing deployment costs by addressing multiple right-of-way charges, streamlining approvals, improving electricity supply, protecting fibre infrastructure, encouraging infrastructure sharing and ensuring that spectrum policy supported long-term network investment.

Adumike said the transition would take time because 5G required substantial changes to existing infrastructure.

He said it would take a while before Nigeria could achieve 5G coverage comparable to 4G.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Adebayo, said nationwide 5G coverage would be gradual because of the underlying challenges facing operators, particularly the cost of infrastructure investment.

The issue was not necessarily a lack of investment in the telecommunications sector, but whether investment was sufficient, efficiently deployed and supported by infrastructure and policy to make 5G commercially viable.

MTN’s N1 trillion capital expenditure in 2025 and Airtel’s network additions, including 657 5G sites, showed ongoing spending on network development.

However, the NCC’s 4.49 per cent 5G market share showed that investment had not yet translated into mass adoption.

For the government, regulators and operators, the next phase of Nigeria’s 5G strategy may need to focus less on new technology announcements and more on addressing economic, infrastructure and policy barriers limiting deployment.

Until those barriers were addressed, rising data demand and telecom investment were likely to continue, even as the 5G market remained in the single digits.