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According to Ookla’s latest analysis, West Africa is accelerating its fiber-optic expansion at a rapid pace, with leading telecommunications markets scaling coverage to meet growing demand for high-speed internet.
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Meanwhile, emerging markets across the sub-region are increasingly leaning on regulatory interventions to bridge connectivity gaps and stimulate investment in underserved areas.
Ookla’s latest analysis examines how the interplay between fiber deployment, operator capital expenditure, and evolving regulatory strategies is reshaping fixed broadband and Wi-Fi performance across West Africa. Read the full report: https://www.ookla.com/articles/fbb-west-africa-2026.
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Key takeaways
- West Africa is accelerating fiber expansion, with leading markets scaling coverage while emerging ones lean on regulatory interventions.
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- While Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire have accelerated fiber rollout and subscriber growth in the last two years, Togo and Gabon are at earlier stages where market development is more dependent on policy decisions.
- Côte d’Ivoire Leads on Speed:
- Côte d’Ivoire recorded the fastest median download speed among analyzed West African markets at 60.99 Mbps in H1 2026, with baseline speeds (P10) nearly doubling to 11.39 Mbps.
- Nigeria Posts Most Consistent Gains:
- Nigeria’s median download speed surged 2.55x from 13.50 Mbps in 2023 to 34.47 Mbps in H1 2026. This performance shift coincides with a 3x jump in fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) subscribers (reaching 265,000 in June 2026), overtaking fixed wireless access (FWA) for the first time.
- Senegal’s Speed Breakout:
- Senegal’s median download speed rose 78% to 38.55 Mbps by mid-2026, driven by incumbent Sonatel’s residential fiber catalog overhaul in February 2026.
- Ghana’s Network Upgrade:
- Ghana saw median download speeds reach 52.78 Mbps in H1 2026, alongside a dramatic step-change in Q3 2025 where upload speeds jumped from 22.60 Mbps to 49.16 Mbps and latency dropped to 12.6 ms, aided by subsea cable landings like 2Africa in Accra.
- Divergent Emerging Markets (Togo vs. Gabon):
- Togo’s regulatory pricing interventions helped median download speeds reach 34–38 Mbps, while Gabon reached 42.25 Mbps but continues to struggle with higher latency (179.8 ms) and higher entry-level package costs (over $40/month).
