4G grows by 15% to overtake 2G as Nigeria’s leading mobile generation

Key takeaways

  • The share of 2G has fallen from 60% to 42% in one year.
  • 4G has seen the largest increase among all mobile generations, making it the market leader.
  • 3G has shrunk by 0.5% points while 5G grew by 1.4% over the same period.

In October 2023, Nigeria's telecommunications market was dominated by 2G networks, which held a commanding 60% of the market share. This reflected a continued reliance on older mobile technology, despite the availability of more advanced options.

By October 2024, 4G networks had grown significantly, capturing 43.6% of the market and surpassing 2G as the leading mobile generation. This nearly 50% growth in 4G adoption signals a major shift toward faster and more reliable connectivity, driven by increasing demand for modern telecommunications services.

While 3G saw a slight dip from 9.9% to 9.4%, 5G began to make its mark with a modest 2.3% share by October 2024. The transition from 2G to 4G demonstrates the industry's evolution, with 5G adoption expected to grow as deployment expands in the coming years.

Source:

Nigerian Communications Commission

Period:

2023-2024
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Nigeria’s top 3 ISPs — Spectranet, Starlink, and FiberOne — account for a combined 63.3% of the market
  • Spectranet leads with 111,384 subscribers, ahead of Starlink's 98,642.
  • Starlink added 6,651 subscribers since December 2025, narrowing the gap to 12,742.
  • Fieldbase Services overtook ipNX for 4th place by just 18 subscribers.
  • The top three ISPs account for over 63% of Nigeria's 420,989 active subscribers.
Volume of internet data consumed in Nigeria in May 2026
  • 1.5 million TB was consumed in May 2026, the highest monthly level on record.
  • 7 million TB was consumed in Jan–May 2026, up 42.1% from the same period in 2025.
  • Jan–May 2026 usage was 88.4% higher than in 2024 and 156.3% higher than in 2023.
  • May’s monthly usage was nearly 2.6× the level recorded three years earlier.
  • The surge points to rapidly growing demand for internet-based services, content and digital activity in Nigeria.
In 2023, about 1 in 6 Nigerians were still on 3G; by 2026, that's down to about 1 in 20
  • 3G's share of Nigeria's mobile market fell from 16.5% to 5.1% between May 2023 and May 2026.
  • 4G became the dominant network, with its market share rising from 25.1% to 54.3% over the same period.
  • 2G's share declined from 58.4% to 36.1% but still accounted for more than one-third of all mobile connections.
  • 5G expanded nearly 37-fold, growing from less than 0.1% to 4.5% of mobile subscriptions.
Nearly 2 in 3 active mobile lines in Ekiti are on MTN
  • MTN held more than half of active mobile lines in most Nigerian states as of December 2025.
  • Ekiti recorded MTN’s highest share at 69.6%, followed by Imo at 64.1% and Anambra at 63.4%.
  • Borno was Airtel’s only leading state, with 56.9% of active mobile lines.
  • Globacom did not lead any state, but it had notable shares in Kogi, Edo, Ondo, FCT, and Oyo.
MTN accounts for over half of internet subscriptions in most Nigerian states
  • MTN held over 50% of active internet subscriptions in most Nigerian states as of December 2025.
  • Ekiti had MTN’s highest share at 70.6%, followed by Imo at 64% and Anambra at 63.7%.
  • Borno was the only state where Airtel led, with 56.6% of active internet subscriptions.
  • Globacom did not lead any state, but it had notable shares in Edo, Kogi, Ondo, Oyo, and Bayelsa.
 
iPhone usage in Africa is just 15%, far below North America’s 60% usage
  • North America leads globally with 60.2% iPhone usage, making it the largest iPhone market.
  • Oceania follows at 58.9%, showing similar consumer preferences to North America.
  • Africa has the lowest iPhone share (14.7%), highlighting a significant adoption gap.
  • Nigeria aligns with the continental trend at 14.1%, reinforcing that the gap is structural, not country-specific.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved