This was revealed at a media roundtable held on Wednesday, February 5, 2026, days after Airtel Nigeria executives visited the Nxtra data centre site at Eko Atlantic. 

The facility, which Airtel says will have a capacity of 38 megawatts, is expected to be one of the largest in Nigeria when completed.

Speaking at the session, Airtel Nigeria’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said the company had increased the number of its network sites by close to 15% between December 2023 and now, with most of that growth happening in the last six months.

“We were a 15,000 site network. Now we’re about 17,000 sites,” Balsingh said. “And more investment on site building is going to come.”

He said the expansion has focused on rural communities, smaller towns and the outskirts of major cities, alongside capacity upgrades in urban areas where data use continues to increase.

According to Airtel, about 25% of its existing sites have already been upgraded with additional radio equipment to carry more data. The company said similar upgrades would continue over the next two years as demand grows.

Balsingh said Airtel had also added 10 megahertz of spectrum to its 4G network, increasing capacity by about 20%. He noted that most mobile data traffic in Nigeria still runs on 4G, even as the company accelerates its 5G rollout.

“In the last three months, we more than doubled our 5G sites,” he said, adding that Airtel plans to extend 5G coverage across about 25% of its network in the country’s top cities.

On rural connectivity, Airtel Nigeria said it is increasingly using satellite technology where fibre or microwave links are difficult to deploy. Harmanpreet Dhillon, chief technology officer of Airtel Nigeria, noted a recent deployment in Taraba State.

“It’s a remote town in Taraba, where we have connected the site,” Dhillon said. “Otherwise, laying a terrestrial network there, reaching there through fibre, was practically impossible.”

The telecom giant is already using Starlink satellite links to serve remote bank branches, oil facilities and security patrol locations, and has announced a direct-to-cell partnership that would allow satellite connectivity on mobile phones, subject to regulatory approval.

Ogo Ofomata, Airtel Business director said the company is focused on bringing connectivity to businesses in challenging locations, using every technology available. 

Stressing how Airtel Nigeria has solved challenges through fixed wireless access, she said, “Nobody needs to visit the site anymore, and the service runs 99.9% of the time,” she said. 

Satellite services, including Starlink, are helping to connect remote branches and support security patrols in the Niger Delta. According to Ofomata, these solutions are already impacting how businesses operate and improving lives in underserved areas.

On transmission infrastructure, the company revealed it is expanding its fibre footprint by about 25% and has completed nearly half of that work. 

Airtel Nigeria also announced a new internet traffic breakout point in the south of the country, using the 2Africa submarine cable landing in Akwa Ibom State.

“Traffic today that comes from the south and the north travels all the way to Lagos and breaks out,” Balsingh said. “So now you have that traffic go to the south and then break out.”

The additional breakout would improve resilience and reduce pressure on existing routes into Lagos.

Meanwhile, on the data and computing side, Airtel Nigeria operates a large private, fully virtualised data environment ahead of the Eko Atlantic data centre facility going live. 

Kemi Ariyo, director of IT at Airtel Nigeria, said the company currently runs significant computing and storage capacity in-house.

“We’ve got over 20,000 gigahertz of compute power,” Ariyo said. “We’ve got dedicated AI clusters and over 20 petabytes of data.”

She stressed that the infrastructure supports network automation, fraud detection and customer protection systems, including tools to block spam and malicious links.

Another highlight was the scale of Airtel Nigeria’s retail and distribution network. The company said its services are available through about 200,000 outlets nationwide, alongside roughly 4,000 exclusive stores and 250 flagship outlets.

“We want to ensure that every 100 metres that you go, you will see an Airtel outlet,” said Ismail Adeshina, director of Marketing at Airtel Nigeria.

On investment figures, Airtel plans to double its investments in Nigeria, both in the new data centre and beyond. Balsingh acknowledged ongoing challenges, including fibre cuts and power limitations, but said Airtel was working with regulators and government agencies to manage the risks.

“2026 will be another massive year of investments,” Balsingh said. “We are building scale, building resilience, building high capacity, and building the future.”

The company said it plans to hold further briefings later in the year to update the media on progress.

Held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, on Wednesday, October 22, the event convened leading voices from government, telecommunications, power, and technology sectors to discuss solutions for expanding digital access to unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria.

The Summit, themed “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide: Accelerating Rural Connectivity Through Collaboration,” was organised by Business Metrics in partnership with stakeholders across the industry.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), noted that the real measure of connectivity lies in its economic impact rather than technical metrics.

“The accurate measure of connectivity is not in megabits per second, but in economic value it creates or loses,” Maida said.

He noted that despite progress since 2001, millions of Nigerians are still digitally invisible, unable to access reliable broadband, mobile, or data services that now define inclusion in the modern economy.

In his address, Engr Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), drew attention to the underlying infrastructure gaps that hinder connectivity.

“80 million Nigerians do not have access to reliable electricity,” he stated, warning that without addressing energy poverty, telecom expansion will continue to face obstacles.

Adebayo further stressed that connectivity must be pursued as a people-centred mission.

“48 million Nigerians do not have access to toilets,” he said. “When we talk about inclusion, it’s not just digital; it’s about dignity.”

The President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, called for urgent transition from dialogue to execution.

“We need to move away from talk shops into actions,” he stated. “This Summit should not end with resolutions; it must produce measurable results.”

Speakers from across the ecosystem, including the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), highlighted ongoing collaborations with NCC to power rural telecom sites using renewable energy mini-grids. 

This partnership aims to reduce costs and improve sustainability by pairing electricity access with digital connectivity.

Dr Tola Yusuf, chief executive officer of Infratel Africa, linked infrastructure to development outcomes.

“The backbone of rural prosperity is digital connectivity, but the backbone of connectivity is the right incentive structure,” he said, calling for fiscal incentives, public-private partnerships, and community-led models.

Dr Olusola Teniola, former ATCON President and executive director at ipNX, reiterated the urgency of implementation.

“It does remain a talk shop, and I’m tired of talk shops nowadays. We need action,” he said.

The Summit’s panel sessions explored multiple dimensions of the challenge and produced several key insights:

The first panel, focused on Mainstreaming Edge Infrastructure for Accelerated Inclusion.

Moderated by Chidi Ajuzie, group COO, Western Telecoms & Engineering (WTES) Limited, panellists included Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Open Access Data Centre (OADC); Wole Abu, MD, Equinix West Africa (MainOne); Dr. Krish Ranganath, regional executive (West Africa), Africa Data Centres and Goke Juba, associate director, Fibre Operations, IHS Nigeria.

Key insights included:

• Expansion of edge data infrastructure beyond Lagos and Abuja is essential to reduce latency and improve local content delivery.
• Power, security, and connectivity must be addressed together to ensure site viability.
• Collaboration between operators and data-centre providers will drive faster deployment in rural areas.

The second session,  focused on Infrastructure Sharing & Collaboration as Key Pillars of Bridging Digital Divide, was moderated by Louisa Olaniyi, the compere. 

The panellists included Tony Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Dr Tola Yusuf, co-founder, Infratel Africa; Segun Okuneye, Divisional CEO, ipNX Nigeria Limited; Onemeguke Azubuike Lucky, senior analyst, Natcom Development and Investment Limited (ntel); Olumide Idowu, group chief technology & information officer, Alphabeta LLC; John Nwachukwu, chief strategy & executive officer, Zoracom; and Dr Isa Usman, associate director, Network Operations, GICL.

Key insights included:

• Shared infrastructure remains the most cost-effective path to rural expansion.
• Spectrum access, harmonised right-of-way policies, and targeted subsidies are needed to attract investors.
• Result-based financing and community-owned networks can complement traditional operator models.

Omobayo Azeez, convener and lead of the Rural Connectivity Initiative, emphasised the need for continued movement.

“Let this gathering be remembered as the moment we all come together to move from talk to action, from plans to progress, and from intent to real impact,” he said.

The Rural Connectivity Summit will become an annual platform for dialogue, accountability, and innovation, bringing together regulators, operators, development agencies, and community leaders to drive universal connectivity and digital inclusion across Nigeria.