THE International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said that Nigeria and the rest of Africa have the lowest 5G coverage rate in the world at only six percent as of December 2023.
This is in part due to the continued importance of older mobile technologies in Africa, such as 2G and 3G networks, the international agency on telecom and internet said in its latest report.
The report indicated that while 2G and 3G networks are being phased out in developed countries, they remain a key part of the telecommunications landscape in many African countries, especially those with lower-income economies like Nigeria.
According to the ITU, 2G and 3G networks are still the predominant technologies in use in many African countries; including Nigeria.
This is because these networks offer a lower-cost option for providing basic mobile services, such as voice calls and text messages, in areas where 4G and 5G networks are not available.
There are still hundreds of towns and villages in all the country’s six geopolitical zones without 4G and 5G networks.
As a result, ITU said, older technologies (2G and 3G) are likely to continue to play an important role in the African telecom industry.
