Nigeria plans a major expansion of mobile spectrum capacity by the end of the decade as surging data consumption threatens to outpace existing network resources, according to a draft roadmap released by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025, up from 1.235 million terabytes in October, the latest NCC data show. The increase reflects steady growth in digital activity across the country and underscores rising pressure on mobile networks.
The regulator says current spectrum holdings will be insufficient to support projected growth in broadband demand, driven by rising smartphone adoption, 5G deployment, and data-intensive services.
In the Draft Spectrum Roadmap 2025–2030, the NCC projects that national mobile data traffic will almost triple within five years, rising from about 11.9 exabytes in 2025 to more than 31 exabytes by 2030, as average data usage per subscriber doubles and active mobile subscriptions climb toward 220 million.
To cope with this surge, the Commission said Nigeria would need to significantly scale up spectrum resources available for International Mobile Telecommunications. “To sustain this growth… Nigeria must expand total assignable spectrum to IMT from the current 1.07 GHz to around 3 GHz across low-, mid-, and high-band terrestrial ranges by 2030,” the draft roadmap stated.
Spectrum is the range of radio frequencies used to carry wireless signals for mobile phones, internet, and satellite services. It is a limited national resource that telecom operators need to expand network capacity and support growing data demand.
Meanwhile, broadband penetration crossed the halfway mark in November, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January 2025, according to the NCC.
Despite the improvement, the figure remains below the 70 per cent coverage target set under the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month, highlighting persistent capacity and infrastructure gaps, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
The NCC noted that while 4G networks will remain the backbone of connectivity, 5G will increasingly carry high-capacity traffic in major cities and enterprise corridors, supporting applications such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and immersive media. Without additional spectrum, the Commission warned, service quality and user experience could deteriorate as data loads intensify.
The roadmap outlines plans to release and re-farm key frequency bands, including low-band spectrum to improve rural and indoor coverage, wider mid-band allocations to boost network capacity, and high-band spectrum to support advanced 5G and fixed wireless services. It also aligns Nigeria’s ambitions with global benchmarks, noting that 5G-ready markets typically require between 2.4 GHz and 3.3 GHz of IMT spectrum.
By 2030, the NCC is targeting near-universal 4G population coverage, at least 50 per cent 5G coverage including all state capitals and median download speeds of up to 100 Mbps, positioning spectrum policy as a central pillar of Nigeria’s digital economy strategy.
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