Friday, January 30, 2026 - Nigeria’s mobile-phone operators plan to step up spending on network infrastructure this year, promising to invest more than the over $1bn (N1.4tn) ploughed into the sector in 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said.
The commitment comes after a year of heavy capital
expenditure last year, when telcos rolled out more than 2,850 new network
sites. The expansion extended coverage across cities, rural areas, and major
transport corridors, while also supporting the gradual spread of 5G services.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said
the improvements captured in the regulator’s latest network performance report
released this week were largely driven by last year’s spending.
“In 2025, over $1bn in industry investment resulted in the
deployment of more than 2,850 new sites to expand both coverage and capacity
nationwide.
Much of the progress reflected in today’s reports is a
direct outcome of these investments,” the regulator said in a remark shared
with The PUNCH on Thursday.
“We have secured commitments from operators to exceed their
2025 investment levels in 2026, with infrastructure investments continuing in
earnest.”
Africa’s most populous country faces rising data demand,
higher operating costs, and pressure to expand reliable connectivity beyond
urban centres, a familiar challenge across the Global South.
Last year’s expansion followed a period of financial strain
that had prompted operators to lobby for higher tariffs. A 50 per cent hike in
service charges, approved by the NCC and the Ministry of Communications and
Digital Economy, relieved some of that pressure, allowing telcos to return to
profitability and resume ambitious investment plans.
The Q4 2025 report, which was presented virtually, showed
steady gains in key performance indicators, including improvements in median
download speeds across both urban and rural areas compared with the previous
quarter. The regulator noted a narrowing of the video quality experience gap
between urban and rural locations, alongside continued strengthening of
Nigeria’s 4G network backbone.
“These reports enable us to track progress, identify gaps
and guide targeted regulatory interventions,” Maida said, noting that the NCC
is using independently verified data to inform decisions around spectrum
optimisation, infrastructure upgrades, quality-of-service enforcement and rural
connectivity expansion.
Despite the gains recorded in 2025, the NCC acknowledged
that challenges remain within the sector. The Q4 reports highlighted gaps in 5G
service availability and persistent inequalities in upload speeds, as well as
pockets of limited mobile service coverage in parts of the country.
Maida said the commission is actively working with operators
to address these shortcomings, adding that the planned increase in
infrastructure spending in 2026 would be critical to closing coverage gaps and
supporting Nigeria’s growing demand for data services.
The NCC stressed that the decision to publish the network
performance reports is part of its broader push for transparent, data-driven
regulation, made possible through collaboration with global network
intelligence firm Ookla, which provides independent insights into real-world
network performance and user experience.
With operators preparing to scale up investment beyond the
$1bn spent in 2025, the Commission said it expects continued improvements in
network reliability, speed, and coverage, as well as progress toward a more
inclusive digital ecosystem that serves both urban and underserved communities.
The NCC said it would continue working closely with industry
stakeholders to ensure that increased investment translates into measurable
service quality improvements for subscribers across the country.
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