The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria’s major highways and intercity roads are now almost fully connected, with mobile network coverage reaching near-universal levels across the country. The Commission disclosed that only about 0.1 percent of surveyed routes recorded complete service outages, highlighting steady progress in nationwide mobile deployment across trunk, primary, and secondary roads that underpin Nigeria’s economic and social activities.
The disclosure was made during the virtual presentation of the Fourth Quarter 2025 Industry Network Performance Reports, where the NCC lifted the veil on the state of the nation’s digital infrastructure.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the release of the reports underscores the Commission’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and evidence-based regulation.
“Today’s engagement reflects our commitment to transparent, data-driven regulation and the continuous improvement of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem,” Maida said. “Through our collaboration with Ookla, we are providing independent insights into real-world network performance and the lived experience of Nigerians across cities, rural communities, highways, and emerging 5G zones. It is in this context that we have released the Q4 2025 Network Performance Reports.”
Maida explained that the reports serve as a critical regulatory tool, enabling the Commission to track industry progress, identify performance gaps, and guide targeted interventions.
“These reports enable us to track progress, identify gaps, and guide targeted regulatory interventions—ranging from spectrum optimisation and infrastructure upgrades to quality-of-service enforcement and the expansion of rural connectivity,” he said.
Providing technical insight into the findings, the NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Edoyemi Ogoh, said the results reflect sustained investments in nationwide mobile infrastructure. He noted, however, that environmental and terrain-related factors continue to affect signal quality in certain locations.
“Our highways are largely covered,” Ogoh said, “but natural obstacles such as hills, forests, and difficult terrain continue to degrade signal quality in rural, border, and hard-to-reach areas.”
To address these challenges, Ogoh said the Commission is prioritising low-band spectrum deployment, including sub-1 GHz frequencies such as 700 MHz, with discussions ongoing around 600 MHz, to improve signal penetration and extend coverage with fewer base stations. This approach aligns with the Draft Spectrum Roadmap for the Communications Sector 2025–2030, which supports rural broadband expansion, 4G densification, and 5G rollout in major urban centres.
According to the NCC, broadband penetration surpassed 50 percent in 2025, while median 4G speeds improved following spectrum optimisation and spectrum trading arrangements between operators, including MTN and T2.
Backing these gains, Maida said the data shows clear and steady improvements in overall network quality.
“The data shows clear and steady improvements in network quality, particularly in median download speeds across both urban and rural areas, especially when compared to Q3 performance,” he said. “Notably, the video Quality of Experience gap between urban and rural areas has narrowed, and the strength of our 4G backbone continues to improve.”
Explaining how the Commission evaluates real-world performance, Umar Abdullahi, Special Adviser to the EVC on Technical Matters, said the NCC combines crowdsourced data from platforms such as Ookla with geospatial road maps to analyse user experience across Nigeria’s road network.
The analysis revealed strong signal performance along major economic corridors linking Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, while weaker connectivity persists in some border towns and insecure rural areas.
“These gaps are not about the absence of infrastructure,” Abdullahi explained. “They are largely caused by propagation challenges due to terrain and vegetation.”
Despite these challenges, the report identified only 326 kilometres of primary roads with zero-service zones—a small fraction of Nigeria’s more than 290,000 kilometres of roads.
Addressing concerns over service fluctuations along the Benin corridors and in parts of Niger, Ekiti, Osun, and Ondo States, Abdullahi said the Commission is engaging operators using detailed analytics and performance maps to implement targeted solutions. The NCC is also encouraging alternative infrastructure options, including microwave backhaul, in locations where fibre deployment is difficult or commercially unattractive.
Maida acknowledged that the industry still faces challenges, including gaps in 5G availability and inequalities in upload speeds, but assured that the Commission is actively engaging operators to address them.
“The industry is not without challenges, as reflected in gaps in 5G services and inequalities in upload speeds highlighted in the reports. However, we are actively engaging with operators to address these issues, including gaps in mobile service coverage,” he said.
He further disclosed that over $1 billion in industry investment in 2025 resulted in the deployment of more than 2,850 new network sites nationwide, significantly expanding coverage and capacity.
“Much of the progress reflected in today’s reports is a direct outcome of these investments,” Maida said.
Looking ahead, the NCC boss revealed that operators have committed to exceeding their 2025 investment levels in 2026, signalling sustained momentum in infrastructure rollout.
“We have secured commitments from operators to exceed their 2025 investment levels in 2026, with infrastructure investments continuing in earnest,” he said.
Concluding the event, Maida called for continued collaboration between the regulator and industry stakeholders.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with industry stakeholders as we translate these insights into better connectivity, improved service quality, and a more inclusive digital future for all Nigerians,” he said.
With robust data, rising investment, and a clearer picture of performance gaps, the NCC’s Q4 2025 Network Performance Reports position Nigeria’s telecoms sector on a firmer, more transparent path, where progress is measured, challenges are confronted, and improved connectivity becomes a tangible reality for millions of Nigerians.
