MTN Nigeria has fastest network in West, Central Africa – Ookla

According to the latest Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data report, MTN Nigeria's 5G network has the fastest download and upload speeds in the West and Central African (WCA) region.

The report examined the mobile performance of select MTN subsidiaries and joint ventures referred to as "opcos" across five of its nine markets in the region. 

In addition, it looked at how these opcos' performances compared with each other and how they evolved between Q2 2022 and Q2 2024.

The report said in Q2 2024, MTN Nigeria significantly widened its lead over the other opcos in WCA in terms of download speeds, reaching 95.62 Mbit/s, due to its 5G network.

MTN Nigeria also excelled in median upload speed at 17.01 Mbit/s, closely followed by MTN Ghana at 16.74 Mbit/s.

MTN Nigeria significantly widened its lead over the other MTN opcos in WCA in Q2 2024 in terms of download speeds. (Source: Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data)

"While all reviewed MTN opcos rose in performance since Q2 2022, Nigeria and Ghana stood out by moving up the most in download and upload speed rankings over the last two years," the reported explained.  

"The two opcos were also the front runners for median multi-server latency, with Ghana achieving this without launching 5G," it added.

The report also said Nigeria and Ghana more than tripled their median download speeds within two years.

"Benin, Cameroon, and Nigeria saw greater jumps in download speeds between 2023 and 2024 compared to the previous year," it continued.

Related:MTN Nigeria launches commercial 5G

MTN's 5G growth in Africa

MTN's 5G journey began in June 2020, with the first commercial launch in South Africa.

Since then, the pan-African operator has rolled out 5G in Uganda and Zambia and this week announced its 5G launches in Congo-Brazzaville and Benin, confirming that 5G trials are underway in South Sudan.

MTN has rolled out 2,251 5G sites in 2023. In the first half of 2024, it added another 829 5G sites.

MTN Nigeria launched its 5G network in September 2022, covering seven major cities, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri and Maiduguri.

According to statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, MTN Nigeria had 131,060 5G subscribers followed by Airtel Nigeria's 116,372 5G subscribers.

Ookla Speedtest Intelligence reports that 5G penetration in Nigeria increased from 17.2% in Q1 2023 to 35.70% in Q2 2024, overtaking South Africa's 31.6%.

While both MTN Nigeria and Airtel have commercially launched 5G services, MTN leads with the most extensive network coverage.