Nigeria’s adoption of fifth generation mobile technology, 5G, increased by 41 per cent in one year, signalling a gradual shift towards faster and higher capacity mobile networks in the country. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission showed that 5G accounted for 4.61 per cent of Nigeria’s mobile connections in June 2026, compared with 3.27 per cent in July 2025, representing a 40.98 per cent increase over the period.
The growth came alongside a broader migration towards newer network technologies, particularly 4G and 5G, as older 2G and 3G connections continued to lose market share. The NCC data showed that 4G accounted for 54.31 per cent of mobile connections in June, up from 51.22 per cent a year earlier, while the combined share of 4G and 5G rose to 58.92 per cent from 54.49 per cent during the period.
In contrast, 3G connections declined from 7.13 per cent to 4.86 per cent, representing a 31.84 per cent fall, while 2G dropped from 38.38 per cent to 36.22 per cent. The figures indicate that although legacy networks still account for more than 40 per cent of mobile connections, Nigerian consumers are gradually moving towards technologies capable of supporting faster internet access and more data intensive services.
The transition is taking place across a mobile market of about 192 million subscribers, with MTN Nigeria maintaining the largest market share at 51.38 per cent, followed by Airtel with 34.44 per cent, Globacom with 12.34 per cent and 9mobile, identified as T2 in the NCC data, with 1.84 per cent. The continued expansion of 5G is expected to support growing demand for high speed connectivity, digital services and data intensive applications, although operators still face the cost of expanding network infrastructure and coverage across the country.