By Mercy Peter
A new report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shown that Abuja leads Lagos is top in 5G penetration.
According to the report, adoption in Abuja improves to 31%, with Lagos following at 27% while, while most cities edged up on 4G networks.
The NCC 4th Quarter Network Performance Report for 2025, which was released by the Commission also showed that the average 5G utilisation gap closed up to 55%. Also, the urban-rural download speed gap lowered to 30-40%.
The report said Abuja recorded an average 5G gap of 47.4%, slightly better than Lagos, but nearly half of potential connections still fail, as only 31% of 5G-capable devices in the capital are successfully connecting to 5G networks.
The report urged telecoms companies to up their games as “device readiness is outpacing infrastructure.”
“Device readiness is outpacing infrastructure. In Lagos, effective 5G coverage is only 27%, and in Abuja, it sits at 31%, leaving the majority of capable devices on 4G. Performance varies wildly by provider. While the market leader keeps the 5G gap around 50%, other major operators show gaps as high as 83% to 99% in key cities,” the report said.
“Your location dictates your speed. Urban centers like Lagos and FCT consistently outperform rural regions by 30-40% across key performance metrics.”
According to the report, in terms of market benchmark, MTN leads nationally in throughput and latency stability in 5G rollout. Airtel maintains a balanced profile, trailing in real-time readiness, proving competitive challenger, while Glo provides widespread access, trailing in stability in baseline connectivity. T2 remains dominant in localized market, demonstrating specific strengths in throughput but lacks the national consistency of the larger players.
