This achievement, verified by Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, made Nigeria number one among MTN’s operating companies (opcos) in the region, outpacing others in terms of network performance and technological advancement.

Going beyond download speeds, MTN Nigeria also recorded a commendable median upload speed of 17.01 Mbps, narrowly surpassing MTN Ghana at 16.74 Mbps. 

The two opcos were the front-runners in both upload speeds and multi-server latency, with Ghana achieving great results despite not yet launching 5G services.

The surge in network performance was consistent across all MTN opcos in WCA, but Nigeria and Ghana stood out by improving their rankings over the past two years. 

MTN Nigeria’s top place is attributed to strategic investments in 5G technology and sustained upgrades to its existing network infrastructure.

The rollout of 5G services in Nigeria has been a huge factor in these advancements. Over the past 18 months, MTN Nigeria expanded its 5G service availability from 17.2% in early 2023 to 35.7% by mid-2024, overtaking South Africa’s 31.6%. 

This progress was achieved through a $120 million investment aimed at increasing coverage and enhancing broadband accessibility in key urban areas.

Nonetheless, Nigeria’s 5G adoption rate is still relatively low, with only 13.9% of users with 5G-capable devices actively utilising the service, compared to 31.3% in South Africa. 

Concerns over data costs, device affordability, and battery life have been barriers to adoption. 

To address this, MTN Nigeria is exploring strategies to make 5G services more accessible through affordable data plans and financing options for modern devices.

Performance Across the Region

Beyond Nigeria, MTN opcos in countries like Ghana, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire have also recorded some improvements. 

MTN Ghana, for instance, tripled its download speeds within two years, thanks to enhanced infrastructure and high smartphone penetration. Meanwhile, MTN Benin maintained solid performance, although slight declines were observed in early 2024. 

Côte d’Ivoire experienced a surge in network speed during the African Football Championship in early 2024 but faced challenges maintaining these gains.

Cameroon lagged behind, showing only modest improvements in both download speeds and latency, while operational challenges and economic instability hindered further progress in other markets like Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry.

Economic and Operational Challenges

MTN’s success comes against the backdrop of economic and political challenges across WCA. Factors such as currency devaluation, inflation, and infrastructure vandalism have increased the cost of operations, while regulatory constraints have slowed down 5G deployment in some countries. 

But then, MTN remains focused on its Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to provide 95% broadband coverage across its markets and double its mobile data user base by 2025.

MTN Nigeria’s achievements show mobile network advancements in Africa’s largest mobile market, which has over 217 million subscribers. 

With plans to invest $3.5 billion in Nigeria over the next five years, MTN aims to extend its leadership by expanding 5G coverage, addressing adoption challenges, and bridging the digital divide.

With MTN accelerating its 5G rollout and strengthening its 4G infrastructure, it thrives to meet the region’s increasing demand for reliable and fast mobile connectivity.

On the 24th of August, 2022, 5G technology was launched in Lagos State, Nigeria with telecom giant, MTN being the pioneer. 

This new technology is the next leap in cellular technology, and it’s already got people talking. Here’s all you need to know and what it means for businesses, consumers, and the world we live in now.

5G is short for “fifth generation” wireless technology that delivers faster speeds, less latency (the time it takes data to travel from one point to another) and more capacity (how much data a network can handle).

Statista forecasted 5G subscriptions to increase drastically worldwide from 2019 to 2027, from over 12 million to over 4 billion subscriptions, respectively.

This wireless standard technology will be used to provide high-speed wireless internet access and has been rolled out in several parts of the world. So what does 5G mean for you? 

5G technology is going to be a game-changer.

Once you’ve seen it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. You’ll never want to go back to 4G again.

It is the next generation of wireless technology. But how will this new technology change your life, whether or not the hype around it is real or not?

Statista explained that 5G connectivity is expected to drive the market growth of Internet of Things (IoT) in the coming years, as the newer mobile technology will connect machines and devices with higher data speeds, ultra-low latency and increased availability, among other benefits. 

By 2023, connected cars are expected to form the largest installed base of 5G IoT endpoints worldwide with more than 19 million installed endpoints. Outdoor surveillance cameras and fleet telematics devices are also key factors of the 5G IoT endpoint installed base.

How much faster will 5G be compared to 4G?

If you’re wondering how much faster 5G will be than 4G, then you’ve come to the right place! The current generation of wireless technology has an average speed of around 100 Mbps (megabits per second), which is about 1/10th of what 5G offers: between 6 and 12 gigabits per second (gbps). That’s more than 40 times faster than 4G!

It’s a brand-new world, and we’re all just trying to figure out how to get along in it.

This speedy technology is the next big thing—and it’s not just a new way of transmitting data. It’s a whole new way of thinking about how we get around, how we work, and what we do for fun.

5G is going to be amazing. But it’s also going to be confusing, scary, and maybe even a little bit scary-good!

So let’s take a deep breath, relax our minds, and get ready for the future.