Out of the four mobile network providers operating in Nigeria, Airtel has been identified as the fastest mobile network operator in the third quarter of the year by Ookla Speedtest.
According to Ookla, Airtel Speed Score in Nigeria rose from 28.82 in the second quarter of the year to 33.43 in the third quarter, making it the operator with the fastest Internet speed for the third time in a row.
Airtel is Nigeria’s third largest network provider in terms of customer base after MTN and Globacom with a subscriber base of 50.86 million as of August this year, representing 26.9 percent of Nigeria’s mobile telecom market.
According to the report, MTN lags behind Airtel with an Internet Speed Score of 26.15 followed by Globacom with a Speed Score of 11.72 and 9mobile with a score of 10.21.
The Speed Score, according to Ookla, is measured using an operator’s download and upload speed to rank its network performance and emphasis is placed on median speeds because it represents the experience of Internet users on a day-to-day basis.
It added that the Speed Score was measured on new mobile device models that uses modern chipsets capable of measuring the network’s full capabilities.
Airtel Ranked High In Quality Internet Performance
Airtel also emerged at the most consistent network provider as a more of its users experience 5 megabyte per second minimum download speed used for streaming in HD and 1 Mbps minimum upload speed.
This is an indication that subscribers are more likely to enjoy acceptable internet performance and quality from Airtel, Ookla says.
Airtel overtook MTN to cling a Consistency Score of 89.4 percent on mobile during in the third quarter while MTN follows closely behind with 82.7 percent.
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Globacom recorded a Consistency Score of 72.2 percent while 9mobile lags behind with a score of 48.9 percent.
IpNX Has Fastest, Consistent Connectivity
Ookla Speedtest Intelligence also shows that ipNX has the fastest fixed broadband provider among other top providers in Nigeria in Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 21.66.
The top fixed fixed broadband provided in terms of speed are IpNX, KKONTech, Glo, MTN and Airtel.
Among the fixed broadband providers, IpNX was the most reliable, recording the highest Consistency Score in Nigeria during Q3 2021, with 40.2 percent of results showing at least a 25 Mbps minimum download speed and 3 Mbps minimum upload speed.
In terms of consistency, the top three are IpNX, Glo and KKONTech fixed broadband providers.
Also, in the third quarter, iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in Nigeria, achieving a mean download speed of 41.94 Mbps — just faster than the iPhone 12 Pro 5G (41.37 Mbps).
And Kano Leads On Mobile Download Speed
Meanwhile, Kano took the top spot among Nigeria’s most populous cities for fastest mean mobile download speed at 24.76 Mbps during Q3 2021.
Other cities with fast mobile download speeds are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Benin City.
Nigeria’s Internet Speed Reach All-Time High
The Internet speed in Nigeria peaked in September 2021, recording an average mobile Internet download speed of 24.74 mbps compared to 17.09 mbps a year ago.
Nigeria also ranked 102th in mobile Internet download speed as of September 2021 compared with a ranking of 118th in September last year, the latest data from Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index showed.
This is as Nigeria’s average Internet upload speed, which has been fluctuating in the past year, reached a peak of 9.8 mbps in September 2021 as against 7.52mbps in September 2020.
According to the monthly report, the average Internet speed performance of the country in September was the highest in one year while the lowest Internet download speed at 17.88mbps was recorded in February this year.
The index, which compared Internet speed data from around the world on a monthly basis, stated that the global average for mobile Internet download speed for the 138 countries examined in September was 63.15 mbps while 13.37mbps was the global average upload speed attained.
