For the first time, Nigeria’s domestic internet traffic has reached a peak of 1 Terabit per second (1Tbps).
The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) confirmed this milestone, reiterating the country’s goal to localise digital infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign bandwidth.
At 1Tbps, the speed and volume of internet traffic handled locally in Nigeria have grown to the level where over a million Zoom calls could run at once without issues. It also means that around 200,000 users could stream high-definition Nollywood films at the same time without any buffering.
IXPN’s Chief Executive Officer, Muhammed Rudman, described the achievement as a huge one. “For Nigeria, hitting this milestone means reducing reliance on international bandwidth, decreasing latency for local services, and strengthening our position as Africa’s digital heartbeat. This milestone is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of a faster, more connected Nigeria.”
This means more data now moves within Nigeria, handled by domestic infrastructure. This also comes with real financial and functional benefits. Service providers no longer need to depend so heavily on international cables or foreign data centres, which means fewer costs and less vulnerability when external connections break down.
Again, Nigerian businesses could save millions of dollars annually by exchanging traffic locally. That’s money that can now be redirected towards building better services or expanding digital capacity. And users? They get faster connections, smoother experiences on fintech apps, and better results when attending virtual classes or meetings.
Not just tech firms will benefit, banks, e-commerce platforms, schools, hospitals and any service that requires a steady internet will find stability in this.
Rudman pointed out that strengthening local infrastructure doesn’t just improve quality of service; it also provides insurance against global internet disruptions.
Years of steady growth in local traffic contributed to this. Surveys among IXPN members show that some now keep up to 70% of their internet traffic within Nigerian borders. That’s a sharp contrast to just a few years ago, when the bulk of data had to travel across the world and back, introducing delays and extra costs.
Raphael Iloka, the organisation’s marketing manager, noted the human side of this transformation. “As more content providers, ISPs, banks, and public institutions localize their traffic through the IXP, end users benefit directly. We’re not just routing data, we’re building the foundation for Nigeria’s digital economy.”
IXPN is the country’s largest Internet Exchange Point and serves as a key node for West African connectivity. Over 130 organisations are already linked through its network, including giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and TikTok, alongside Nigeria’s mobile network operators.
Its reach goes beyond Lagos, IXPN has active exchange points in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, Delta, and Gombe. More are on the way. The organisation has plans to establish additional PoPs across the country by 2025, attract more content providers, and deploy technologies like caching to help platforms run more efficiently.
These initiatives have also earned IXPN recognition globally. It now operates as a MANRS-compliant exchange point, a standard that signals secure and trustworthy internet routing.
This progress is not accidental. It comes from deliberate investment, better collaboration among service providers, and an understanding that Nigeria can’t afford to outsource its internet forever, and so, the traffic growth is commendable.
