Five operators control 83.84% of Nigeria's fibre-to-the-home subscriptions, according to Nigerian Communications Commission data for the second quarter of 2026 analysed by The Guardian. The figure exposes a fixed broadband market that remains narrow, urban and highly concentrated despite four years of 5G deployment.

The numbers are stark. Ninety-nine licensees collectively served just 319,735 FTTH subscriptions. Of those, MTN, FibreOne, ipNX, Broadbase and NgCom accounted for 268,371 connections — more than four in every five lines in the country. Subscriptions cluster in urban centres, reflecting how little fixed infrastructure reaches beyond the major cities.

What does the concentration mean for the market?

For practitioners, the takeaway is simple. Nigeria's fixed access business is a five-player game in practical terms, even on paper a 99-licensee field exists. New entrants face a market where a handful of incumbents already hold the urban subscriber base, and where rural expansion carries costs few operators have chosen to bear. That concentration, The Guardian reported, raises concerns about competition and the pace of infrastructure development.

The mobile side tells a different story — one of dissatisfaction. Consumer rating scores for internet service providers fell from 3.4 in 2022 to 3.0 in 2026, Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data showed. The Net Promoter Score, which measures willingness to recommend a provider, dropped from -15.6 to -34.3 over the same period.

Why are subscribers unhappy despite 5G growth?

Tariffs are part of the answer. Ookla attributed the decline partly to increased customer frustration following higher mobile tariffs. The government approved a 50% increase in mobile tariffs in early 2025, raising affordability concerns, particularly among lower-income users. For a household, that meant paying half as much again for the same service in a market where median mobile download speeds sit at 26.22 Mbps.

5G itself is spreading but not converting. The proportion of scanned locations with 5G coverage rose from 11.3% in 2023 to 28.9% in 2026. Yet 5G accounts for only 4.6% of mobile connections. Ookla noted the network remains largely under-utilised, citing the high cost of 5G-enabled devices and data.

Speeds tell the same story of strain. Median 5G download speeds fell from 329 Mbps in 2022 to 155 Mbps in 2026 — a drop of more than half. Some consumers with 5G-capable devices stay on 4G instead, drawn by its significantly wider coverage footprint.

How did the rollout get here?

The 5G era began with the 3.5GHz spectrum auction in December 2021. MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications each paid $273.6 million for spectrum; MTN also paid a $15.9 million assignment fee. MTN expanded across major cities, while Mafab's rollout was slower, launching initially in Lagos and Abuja. Airtel Nigeria entered in January 2023 with a 100MHz licence costing $316.7 million — more than either original winner paid.

The urban-rural divide persists across all generations. Urban users recorded download speeds between 17 Mbps and 24 Mbps. Rural users managed 14 Mbps to 21 Mbps. Overall median mobile download speeds did improve, rising from 18.94 Mbps in 2022 to 26.22 Mbps in 2026.

What happens next?

The gap between coverage and adoption is now Nigeria's central broadband problem. Operators hold spectrum, licences and nearly 29% location coverage, yet 5G carries under 5% of connections because devices and data remain expensive. Unless device affordability improves or tariffs moderate, the fixed market's concentration and the mobile market's weak consumer scores look set to persist through the next licensing and rollout cycle.

By Daniel Okafor, Telecom Gazette