Nigeria’s mobile network quality, according to Opensignal’s Global Network Excellence Index and based on data collected between January 1 and March 31, 2025, has ranked 105.
Opensignal launched the Global Network Excellence Index earlier this year (based on fourth-quarter 2024 data) as a new tool to help regulators and mobile network operators benchmark the quality of their country’s network infrastructure versus their peers.
The quality of telephone networks in Nigeria didn’t change from what was obtained in February when it ranked 105th out of 137 countries examined. The network maintained the same 105th position for quarter one, unlike some other countries.
For instance, in February, South Africa ranked 64th out of 137 countries in terms of mobile network excellence, outpacing some of its African peers. But based on the latest data from the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), South Africa rose four places to 60th place globally.
The index is based on direct measurements of user experience, evaluating countries across three core pillars: 4G/5G availability, how consistently networks support demanding applications, as well as 4G and 5G download speeds.
It provided a country-level ranking and assessment of mobile infrastructure capabilities worldwide. The countries are segmented based on the World Bank region, landmass size, and income level definitions and data.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data as of January 2025, 5G penetration stood at 2.54 per cent, meaning that the licensees, including MTN, Mafab and Airtel have provided 5G services to about 4.3 million of 169 million active telephone users.
Further analysis of the Index Report showed that in terms of availability of 4G/5G services, Nigeria ranked 100th but rated 121st on its quality. For 4G download speed, the country ranked 120th while its 5G speed was rated 46th because fewer countries have deployed the technology.
Principal Analyst at Opensignal, AndreyPopov, said: “Most countries are seeing steady gains in users’ ability to access modern networks. This reflects ongoing investments in networks and the move away from legacy technologies – particularly in lower and upper-middle-income countries, often referred to as emerging markets, where availability gains are often more pronounced.
“While availability is rising across most regions, low-income markets are falling behind. Most have yet to launch 5G, and those that have are in the early deployment stages. The slight drop in 4G/5G availability suggests users are spending more time on 2G/3G networks – or facing signal loss – due to inability to access 4G infrastructure, spectrum reallocation, or rising congestion.”
Meanwhile, China’s three major mobile players racked up nearly 1.05 billion 5G network subscribers in March, with market leader China Mobile registering an 18.6 per cent year-on-year growth to 578 million.
China Telecom and China Unicom disclosed their network numbers in the quarter, previously releasing package subscriber figures. China Telecom reported 266.2 million 5G network subscribers, with its website no longer showing package subs – those with 5G plans but not compatible devices. Total mobile users increased 4.3 per cent to 429.5 million.
China Unicom ended the quarter with 203.8 million 5G network subs. A year ago it reported 268.9 million 5G package subs.China Mobile’s operating revenue was flat at CNY222.4 billion ($2.6 billion), while China Telecom’s sales were also unchanged at CNY135.5 billion.
Both reported roughly 3 per cent growth in net profit: CNY30.6 billion for China Mobile and CNY8.9 billion for China Telecom. China Mobile’s telecoms services revenue inched up 1.4 per cent to CNY222.4 billion. Its overall mobile subscriber base dipped marginally to one billion.ARPU improved 3.5 per cent to CNY46.9. Average data consumption slipped from 16.6GB to 16.1GB.
