The acceleration of fibre deployment in Nigeria is beginning to translate into measurable gains in internet performance, with median fixed broadband speeds reaching 34.47 Mbps in the first half of 2026, up from 13.50 Mbps three years earlier.
The improvement was disclosed by Ookla, a global connectivity intelligence firm, in its latest analysis, The Uneven Path to High-Speed Connectivity in West Africa, which examined broadband development and network performance across six markets in the region.
Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data showed that Nigeria recorded the most consistent improvement in fixed broadband performance among the countries assessed, as the expansion of fibre networks increasingly translates into faster and more reliable connections for users.
The growth in broadband speeds has coincided with a rapid increase in fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) adoption. According to the report, Nigeria’s FTTP subscribers increased from 84,141 at the end of 2025 to 265,000 by June 2026.
The increase has also altered the structure of Nigeria’s fixed broadband market, with fibre subscriptions overtaking fixed wireless access (FWA) connections for the first time. FWA subscribers stood at 217,083 in the first quarter of 2026.
Ookla said the improvement in Nigeria’s broadband performance was not limited to users on the fastest connections, with gains also recorded among subscribers at the lower end of the speed range.
The 10th percentile download speed, which represents the slower end of tested connections, increased from 2.24 Mbps in 2023 to 6.04 Mbps in the first half of 2026. At the higher end, the 90th percentile speed rose from 74.37 Mbps to 90.04 Mbps during the same period.
The data suggests that the expansion of fibre networks is helping to raise the baseline quality of fixed broadband services while also improving performance for higher-speed users.
Fibre improves upload speeds, latency
Nigeria’s broadband gains have also extended to upload performance, an important measure for businesses and consumers using cloud services, video conferencing, content creation and other data-intensive applications.
Ookla found that median upload speed increased from about 11 Mbps in 2023 to 25.17 Mbps in the first half of 2026, representing an increase of nearly two and a half times.
The firm linked the improvement to the growing deployment of fibre, which can provide more balanced download and upload capacity compared with traditional fixed broadband technologies.
Network latency also improved over the period, falling from 47.9 milliseconds in 2023 to 35.8 milliseconds in the first half of 2026.
Lower latency generally translates into faster network response times and can improve the experience of applications such as video calls, cloud computing, online gaming and other interactive digital services.
Ookla said the steady quarterly improvement in Nigeria’s median download speed over the past two years reflected both progressive fibre deployment and increasing adoption.
