Nigeria’s broadband speed jumps 155% as fibre connections triple

Nigeria's fixed broadband speed has surged by 155%, placing the nation among the top performers in West Africa, according to Ookla. This remarkable improvement, the result of a tripling of fibre connections between the end of 2024 and June 2026, is highlighted in the company's The Uneven Path to High-Speed Connectivity in West Africa report. The report examined fibre deployment, regulation, and infrastructure investment across Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire, identifying Nigeria as the standout performer.

The report revealed a 155% rise in median download speed, from 13.50 Mbps in 2023 to 34.47 Mbps in H1 2026. That increase also applied to upload speeds, which nearly doubled from around 11 Mbps to 25.17 Mbps in the same period. Latency, too, improved significantly, dropping from 47.9 milliseconds in 2023 to 35.8 milliseconds in H1 2026.

While the improvement impacted all connection speeds, it was most pronounced in the median P10 and P90 speeds. The P10 download speed, originally 2.24 Mbps, climbed to 6.04 Mbps, while the P90 download speed, initially 74.37 Mbps, surged to 90.04 Mbps.

Nigeria's broadband growth is set to enter a new phase following the termination of the National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020–2025, which fell short of its goal to achieve 70% broadband penetration by the end of 2025. ATCON President Tony Emoekpere called for a more practical approach in the country's next broadband strategy, emphasizing the need for an executable and better-aligned plan to drive digital infrastructure expansion.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced ambitious projects, including a 90,000-kilometre fibre-optic network, 3,700 telecommunications towers, and an alphanumeric postcode system, to bolster broadband connectivity across the nation.