By Peace Udugba -The daily torch media
Lagos, Nigeria | February 5, 2026 — Airtel Nigeria has unveiled a comprehensive update on its network, infrastructure and technology investments, positioning the company to lead the next phase of growth in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector through improved quality of service.
The updates were announced at Airtel Nigeria’s first media roundtable of 2026, where the company disclosed sustained investments made over the past 12 to 24 months to stay ahead of rising data demand in Nigeria’s fast-digitising economy.
Speaking to senior editors and industry correspondents, Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said the company’s strategy is built on scale, depth and long-term resilience.
“Over the last two years, we have invested with discipline and clarity to strengthen our network nationwide. Those investments are now delivering measurable improvements in performance, customer experience and reach, including in underserved and hard-to-reach communities,” Balsingh said. “In 2026, we are accelerating these upgrades because Nigeria’s data appetite is growing, and industry leadership will belong to those who plan ahead.”
Network Expansion and Capacity Boost
At the heart of Airtel Nigeria’s quality-of-service drive is the rapid expansion of its network footprint. Since December 2023, the operator has increased its number of network sites by 15.5 per cent, adding 2,242 new sites and bringing the total to nearly 16,711 sites nationwide. Additional deployments are planned in 2026 to further strengthen coverage, capacity and resilience across both urban and rural areas.
Capacity upgrades have also reached significant scale. In 2025 alone, Airtel completed network capacity enhancements on 30 per cent of its sites, covering more than 5,032 locations nationwide. Today, 99 per cent of Airtel Nigeria’s sites deliver high-speed 4G mobile broadband, effectively establishing the operator as a fully nationwide 4G network. Further upgrades are ongoing to sustain performance as data consumption continues to rise.
Chief Technology Officer, Harmanpreet Singh Dhillon, said spectrum depth and optimisation remain central to service quality.
“We have increased our 4G spectrum by 10MHz and are actively optimising our spectrum holdings. This enables higher data throughput, better speeds and more consistent service, particularly in high-traffic areas,” he said.
Accelerated 5G and Satellite Connectivity
Airtel Nigeria is also fast-tracking its 5G rollout. Over the last three months, the company has more than doubled the number of its active 5G sites.
The ongoing upgrade will connect Nigeria’s top 20 cities to high-speed 5G networks, with a significant portion of Airtel’s infrastructure in these cities expected to become 5G-enabled within the coming year.
Beyond terrestrial infrastructure, Airtel is extending connectivity through space-based solutions. The company has entered partnerships with satellite providers OneWeb and Starlink, enabling enterprise-grade connectivity for businesses operating in remote and hard-to-reach locations.
Recently, Airtel announced Nigeria’s first Direct-to-Cell partnership with Starlink, a breakthrough expected to keep customers connected while travelling through deep remote areas and allow small rural communities to access Airtel’s digital and fintech services.
Fibre Backbone and New Internet Breakout
Supporting these services is an expanding fibre backbone spanning almost all states of the federation. Following its decision last year to double capital expenditure, Airtel committed to expanding its fibre footprint by 25 per cent, with intensive rollout already underway across cities and states. The company has also confirmed plans for further fibre expansion within cities and across state corridors.
A major national milestone is also approaching. Nigeria currently depends on a single internet submarine cable landing and breakout point in Lagos. Airtel Nigeria has announced plans to launch a second internet breakout from southern Nigeria, leveraging the 2Africa submarine cable.
In partnership with 2Africa, Airtel will soon begin carrying internet breakout traffic from Kwa Ibo in Akwa Ibom State, creating an alternative and faster path for internet traffic across large parts of the North and South.
“This will significantly improve resilience for the entire ecosystem. Airtel is proud to take the lead in making this happen,” Balsingh said.
Cloud, AI and Retail Reach
Underpinning Airtel Nigeria’s network upgrades is a robust IT and cloud backbone. The company operates an enterprise-grade private cloud with thousands of virtual machines, large-scale storage and compute capacity across multiple locations. Its infrastructure includes GPU clusters that support AI-driven applications such as fraud detection, intelligent network self-healing and advanced customer analytics.
Airtel also announced the forthcoming launch of its 38-megawatt hyperscaler-ready data centre in Eko Atlantic, designed to support Nigeria’s next phase of AI-powered digital growth.
On the customer access front, Airtel Nigeria maintains one of the country’s largest retail footprints, with products and services available in over 200,000 outlets nationwide, supported by more than 4,000 exclusive shops across all local government areas and 250 flagship stores.
“Quality of service today is about resilience, redundancy and intelligence, and that is what Airtel is delivering,” Balsingh said. “From fibre to cloud to satellite-enabled connectivity, we are building a platform that allows Nigerian businesses to scale with confidence, regardless of location.”
He reaffirmed Airtel Nigeria’s long-term commitment to the country, noting that the company remains focused on consistent investment, disciplined execution and deep confidence in Nigeria’s future.
Other members of the Airtel Nigeria leadership team present at the roundtable included Ogo Ofomata, Director, Airtel Business; Ismail Adeshina, Director, Marketing; Kemi Ariyo, Director, Information Technology; and Femi Adeniran, Director, Corporate Communications and CSR.
