North Africa’s 5G Boom Faces Performance Declines After Strong Launches

North Africa’s 5G rollout delivered significant initial speed gains across the region, but network performance varied considerably during the six months following commercial launches, according to Ookla’s Speedtest data.  Tunisia and Egypt launched 5G in 2025, followed later that year by Morocco and Algeria, with differences in spectrum allocation and deployment strategies contributing to contrasting performance trends.

All four markets adopted 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture, although their approaches differed. Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria deployed dedicated 3.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, while Egypt refarmed existing 2.6 GHz TDD spectrum. Tunisia placed particular emphasis on 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), while Morocco introduced coverage obligations and Algeria adopted a phased rollout across its provinces.

The spectrum choices had a direct impact on initial 5G speeds. Algeria recorded a median 5G download speed of 484.6 Mbps on launch day, nearly 19 times its 4G baseline, while Tunisia reached 223.1 Mbps, more than nine times its 4G speed. Morocco recorded 261.7 Mbps, almost six times its 4G baseline, while Egypt reached 110.5 Mbps, a 3.5-fold improvement. Ookla attributed Egypt’s lower uplift to its use of relatively narrow 20–30 MHz blocks of refarmed 2.6 GHz spectrum, compared with the larger 3.5 GHz allocations available in other markets.

However, the initial performance gains did not persist at the same level across the region. Morocco experienced the steepest decline, with median 5G download speeds falling from 266.94 Mbps in the first month to around 160–165 Mbps in subsequent months, a 38% reduction. Tunisia saw a two-stage decline, with speeds falling from 217.16 Mbps in the first month to 152.92 Mbps by the sixth month.

Algeria followed a more complex trajectory. Its median 5G speed stood at 443.89 Mbps in the first month and remained broadly stable through the third month before falling to 319.32 Mbps in the fourth month. It subsequently recovered to 374.37 Mbps by the sixth month, remaining significantly above its pre-launch 4G baseline. Egypt recorded the most stable performance, ending the six-month period at 89 Mbps after fluctuations within a relatively narrow range.

The report also found that the benefits of 5G did not necessarily translate into sustained improvements in overall network performance. Three of the four markets recorded combined 4G and 5G median download speeds below their pre-launch baselines by the sixth month. Algeria was the exception, with aggregate speeds rising 49% from 30.6 Mbps before launch to 45.6 Mbps in the sixth month, alongside a 7% improvement in 4G performance.

In Egypt, the combined 4G and 5G median initially rose by 60% during the launch month but eventually declined to 34.77 Mbps, below its pre-launch baseline of 37.68 Mbps. Morocco recorded a 113% launch-month increase before falling to 44.59 Mbps by the sixth month, while Tunisia’s combined performance declined from a launch peak of 70.65 Mbps to 31.73 Mbps. Both Morocco and Tunisia also recorded declines in 4G performance during the period.

Ookla said the results demonstrate the close relationship between 5G and existing 4G infrastructure because all four markets use 5G NSA architecture anchored to a 4G core. As 5G traffic increases, pressure on the existing network can affect both 4G and 5G performance, making continued investment and optimisation of 4G infrastructure important alongside 5G expansion.

The report also noted that Libya and Mauritania joined North Africa’s 5G rollout in 2026. Libya launched its first commercial 5G network in January through Almadar Aljadid, initially covering parts of Tripoli, while Mauritania awarded provisional 15-year 5G licences to four operators in April, with Chinguitel launching commercially in Nouakchott the following month.