Already one of the best in sub-Saharan Africa, the domestic telecommunication system was undergoing a major expansion in 1990. At the end of the 1980s, there were about 155,000 telephones in Nigeria. About one-third of them were in the capital. A domestic satellite system with nineteen ground stations, along with coaxial cable and a microwave network, linked all major urban areas. Most localities could receive at least one of the sixty-five amplitude modulation (AM) radio stations. More than a dozen cities had frequency modulation (FM) radio stations. Shortwave broadcasts from six transmitters were directed at remote rural areas broadcasts were in English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and twelve other languages. Most urban areas also had television service. In 1990 the country had an estimated 10 million radios and 10 million televisions.

International telecommunications were modern and provided high-quality links to the rest of the world. In coordination with International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean satellites, three ground stations made live television broadcasts and direct telephone dialing was possible between Nigeria and the rest of the world. Lagos was the terminus of an undersea coaxial cable linking the West African countries with France and capable of carrying 960 simultaneous long-distance telephone calls.

Data as of June 1991