When 5G launched in Nigeria in September 2022, it came with bold promises: ultrafast speeds, low latency, and a leap toward smart city innovation. But nearly three years on, the momentum has slowed. As of April 2025, only 2.81% of mobile subscribers—fewer than 4 million people—are using 5G, falling far short of expectations.
The rollout has been bogged down by high infrastructure costs, low device adoption, and weak consumer demand, casting doubt over the technology’s near-term impact in Africa’s largest telecom market.
A major roadblock is Nigeria’s challenging economic climate. Inflation, currency devaluation, and soaring energy prices have sharply increased operating costs for telecom operators. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), industry-wide expenses surged by 50.92% in 2023 alone—from ₦2.09 trillion in 2022 to ₦3.16 trillion—driven by pricier diesel, rising security costs, and expensive imported equipment. The naira’s depreciation by over 220% between 2021 and 2024 has only deepened the financial strain.
This sluggish progress in 5G deployment is holding back Nigeria’s digital ambitions at a time when fast, stable internet is critical for sectors like fintech, e-learning, and remote work. With millions still relying on overburdened 4G and unreliable 3G networks, many users, especially in underserved areas, are turning to high-cost alternatives like Starlink. While expensive, Starlink offers consistent, high-speed access, highlighting growing dissatisfaction with local networks and putting added pressure on operators to deliver on 5G’s promise.
“It is probably an indication that consumers haven’t outstripped the capacity of 4G base stations,” said Ladi Okuneye, CEO of UniCloud Africa, a cloud infrastructure provider. “Migrating to new technology is expensive, especially when the existing network still serves user needs. Operators are likely trying to recover 4G investments before diving deeper into 5G.”
Telecom giants like MTN have borne the brunt of this cost pressure. In 2024, MTN Nigeria’s operating expenses jumped 76.6% year-on-year to ₦1.52 trillion. Across the sector, costs have risen by more than 300% in just two years, with energy remaining the biggest burden. Most telecom infrastructure runs on diesel-powered generators due to poor grid reliability. And with most network equipment priced in dollars, while revenue is earned in naira, telecom operators face a widening financial mismatch—one that continues to stall the 5G rollout.
A tale of three operators: MTN, Airtel, and Mafab
Of the three operators licensed to launch 5G services, only MTN and Airtel have achieved tangible milestones. MTN launched its commercial 5G services in September 2022, quickly expanding across major cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Maiduguri. Its rollout was backed by strategic investment and partnerships, notably with Ericsson, which provided network infrastructure and technical support.
As of early 2025, MTN has over 2100 active 5G sites across 13 cities. During MTN Nigeria’s Q1 2025 report release, Karl Toriola, the company’s CEO, explained that expansion was stalled.
“Our 4G network coverage expanded to 82.7% of the population (up 0.2pp), while 5G coverage remained stable at 12.7%, as we prioritised enhancing capacity over broadening coverage during the period,” Toriola said.
MTN also proritised the rollout of its Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) or MTN home broadband service, which also taps its 5G fixed wireless access. 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is a way to deliver high-speed internet to homes and businesses using 5G wireless technology instead of traditional fixed-line infrastructure like fiber optics or copper cables.
Airtel Nigeria, which secured its 5G license in January 2023, launched services in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, and Rivers states, deploying more than 200 5G sites. The company has pledged to double its capital expenditure in 2025 to accelerate its rollout, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
In contrast, Mafab Communications has failed to deploy a single operational 5G site despite being awarded a license alongside MTN in 2021. The company has struggled with several setbacks, including delays in obtaining a Unified Access Service License (UASL), a lack of telecom infrastructure, and difficulties securing investment due to Nigeria’s ongoing foreign exchange challenges. Although Mafab held a public launch event in January 2023, it has repeatedly missed deadlines and has yet to fulfill its commitment to roll out 102 5G sites in Abuja and Kano.
So far, only MTN Nigeria has met the NCC launch requirement, which mandates that licensees begin commercial operations within the first year. According to NCC guidelines, 5G deployment in Nigeria follows a 10-year phased rollout strategy. In the first two years, operators are expected to launch services in at least one state in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. This must be followed by expansion into six additional states between the third and fifth years. From the sixth to the tenth year, operators are required to achieve nationwide coverage. While commercial rollouts have begun in key cities and state capitals, further expansion will depend on infrastructure availability, market demand, and broader economic conditions.
Why 5G is stalling
The importance of 5G extends far beyond faster mobile downloads. In theory, it could support next-gen solutions like telemedicine, autonomous transport, smart agriculture, and remote learning. For a country like Nigeria, home to over 200 million people, a growing tech ecosystem, and chronic infrastructure deficits, 5G promises both economic transformation and digital inclusion.
But that promise is colliding with the harsh reality of Nigeria’s telecom environment.
High operating costs are the most immediate challenge. The importation of 5G equipment is costly and vulnerable to currency fluctuations, while network deployment requires dense fiber optic backhaul, expensive tower upgrades, and massive power consumption. At a time when energy costs are soaring and the naira remains volatile, telecom operators are grappling with unsustainable capital expenditure.
Spectrum challenges add to the bottleneck. Although the NCC has auctioned frequencies in the 3.5GHz band, many of the optimal bands for 5G remain tied up in legacy services like TV and satellite broadcasting. Fragmented assignments and high spectrum fees have delayed expansion, while regulatory processes remain slow and inconsistent.
Then there’s the consumer angle. The average Nigerian subscriber is still transitioning from 3G to 4G, and 5G-compatible devices are largely unaffordable for most. With entry-level 5G smartphones still priced well above the average monthly income, consumer demand remains low. And for those who do adopt 5G, data costs remain prohibitive, with ₦3 per MB translating into steep bills for high-bandwidth services like video streaming or online gaming.
A continental struggle
Nigeria’s struggles are not unique. Across the continent, 5G deployment is lagging due to similar financial, regulatory, and social constraints. According to industry estimates, only about a dozen African countries have launched limited 5G services, with rollouts mostly restricted to urban centers.
South Africa, which launched 5G in 2020, remains the continental leader, with over 10.8 million subscribers as of late 2024 and 50% population coverage, projected to reach 60% by the end of 2025. However, even in South Africa, growth is slower than expected, and use cases remain limited outside urban centers.
In most other African countries, the lack of basic internet access in rural areas and the focus on expanding 4G coverage make 5G a hard sell, both technically and economically.
The gap between promise and reality
In Nigeria, the 5G rollout has highlighted a broader problem in digital infrastructure planning: the mismatch between hype and reality. While regulators and telecom operators tout the potential of 5G to power digital economies, the groundwork for success—affordable devices, robust infrastructure, consumer awareness, and policy alignment—is still under construction.
Even where 5G has been deployed, adoption remains tepid. Many subscribers either don’t see the difference in performance or are unable to afford the plans and devices needed to enjoy it. Without a compelling value proposition, such as dramatically cheaper or better service, 5G risks becoming a “premium” option accessible only to a fraction of the population.
What needs to happen next
For Nigeria’s 5G ambitions to gain traction, several key conditions must align. First, device affordability must improve, with local and global manufacturers offering low-cost 5G smartphones suited to the African market. Second, spectrum reform is essential: regulators need to lower spectrum fees and accelerate reallocation processes to ease deployment.
Third, infrastructure sharing should be encouraged to help operators cut costs by co-using towers, fiber networks, and power facilities. Fourth, consumer education is critical, as many Nigerians still don’t understand the benefits of 5G over 4G; targeted awareness campaigns could help.
Finally, rather than focusing on futuristic applications, telcos should prioritise practical use cases that resonate with everyday users, such as improving mobile banking, video calls, and e-learning. According to Diseye Isoun, Diseye Isoun, founder, Content Oasis, an Internet Service Provider (ISP), subscribers’ primary need is reliable and affordable broadband.
“If 5G can play a role, great,” Isoun told TechCabal. “But strategy and policy should be holistically focused on strengthening local ISPs, providing connectivity in the oasis of productivity and national development, such as educational institutions, health centers, commercial zones, and centers of citizen engagement.”
Despite its slow start, 5G is not dead on arrival in Nigeria. MTN and Airtel’s investments show that the foundation is being laid—even if it’s slower than expected. But for the technology to move beyond urban elites and into the daily lives of average Nigerians, the ecosystem around it must evolve: policy, pricing, partnerships, and practical relevance.
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