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.

The permit allows Kuiper to deploy its network as part of a global constellation of up to 3,236 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, as Nigeria opens its market to serious new competition in satellite broadband.

The approval gives Amazon legal ground to invest in infrastructure, enterprise partnerships, and consumer services. It also strengthens competition with Starlink, which currently holds a first-mover advantage in Nigeria with over 66,000 subscribers. 

The NCC described the decision as aligning with global best practices and part of Nigeria’s strategy to modernise its connectivity landscape.

Kuiper’s Nigerian operations will include three service categories: Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) for homes, businesses, and government offices; Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) for portable and emergency communications; and Earth Stations at Sea (ESAS) for moving platforms like aircraft, ships, and vehicles. 

“We don’t have any information to share beyond what is publicly available at this time, but we’ll sure be in touch if we announce anything,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a recent email.

The network will operate in the Ka-band, a high-frequency range capable of handling far more data than older C- or Ku-band satellites. 

This translates into faster speeds, lower latency, and multi-gigabit traffic for users, though tropical weather can disrupt signals, a challenge mitigated by Kuiper’s adaptive routing across satellites. 

Nigeria represents a huge opportunity for Kuiper. With over 23 million residents in underserved areas and mobile broadband penetration around 50%, satellite internet could provide homes, businesses, and remote industrial sites with connectivity that fibre and mobile networks cannot efficiently reach. 

Enterprises could use Kuiper for telecom backhaul, oil and gas operations, ports, and logistics corridors.

The entry of Kuiper sets up a confrontation with Starlink. Amazon’s strengths in logistics, cloud integration, and pricing power could differentiate Kuiper, especially when combined with Amazon Web Services for enterprise and government clients. 

This could change the Nigerian LEO broadband market, pushing competitors to improve coverage, reliability, and pricing.

Amazon has pledged $10 billion globally to build the Kuiper network. By late 2025, the project had launched its first test satellites and signed a strategic partnership with Vanu Inc. to extend rural connectivity in Southern Africa. 

Nigeria’s approval places the country among the first major African markets officially welcoming Kuiper, pointing to growth in the continent’s satellite broadband sector.

This competition promises faster internet, broader coverage, and more resilient connectivity for consumers and businesses in Nigeria.

Over 66,000 subscribers must complete a mandatory biometric verification by December 31, 2025, or their service will be suspended.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) first issued the requirement in August 2025, expanding its subscriber-verification framework from mobile networks to satellite internet providers. 

According to an NCC spokesperson, the directive was communicated in a letter dated August 19, 2025, initially giving users three months to comply. An extension moved the final deadline to the end of this year.

Starlink confirmed the update requirement in an email to customers on December 29, noting that the verification “takes less than two minutes.” The company warned that users who miss the deadline may face suspension. 

Reactivation will depend on network capacity in each location, meaning some subscribers could permanently lose access if their area is already at capacity.

A Starlink employee, speaking anonymously, explained the process: users must upload a headshot, provide their National Identification Number (NIN), and consent to link the information to their account.

Capacity is already an issue in urban hotspots. In Lagos, districts such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, Surulere, Lagos Island, and Ikeja frequently show as “sold out” on Starlink’s availability checker. Abuja faces a similar situation, with several districts accepting only waitlist deposits for new users.

This aligns with the NCC’s NIN–SIM linkage programme for mobile operators, first rolled out in 2020. That initiative required all SIM cards to be tied to a verified NIN, including facial and fingerprint data, in partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). 

By September 14, 2024, mobile operators were ordered to bar any unverified lines. The NCC later reported 96% compliance, with over 153 million SIMs successfully linked.

The NCC says the biometric verification strengthens national security, improves fraud prevention, and ensures the reliability of Nigeria’s subscriber database. Linking satellite accounts to NINs also prevents anonymous usage and aligns with the country’s broader digital identity strategy.

Starlink’s speedy growth in Nigeria, its largest African market since launching in 2023, makes compliance essential. Regulators in other countries, such as India and Kenya, have introduced similar ID verification requirements for telecom services.

For Starlink Nigeria users who miss the deadline, the consequences, especially with many urban areas already oversubscribed, may be difficult.

On Starlink’s portal, neighbourhoods such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, Surulere, and several estates in Abuja now carry a bold “Sold Out” notice. 

Users attempting to subscribe are prompted to pay a deposit to secure a place in line. A message displayed to applicants in Chevyville Estate, Lekki, reads: “Starlink service is currently at capacity in your area. However, the good news is you can still place a deposit now to reserve your spot on the waitlist and receive a notification as soon as service becomes available again.”

In November 2024, Starlink also suspended nationwide sales for almost eight months, pointing to bandwidth shortages and unresolved disputes with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over tariff approvals. 

New activations only resumed in June 2025, after the company secured regulatory clearance and upgraded parts of its infrastructure.

An engineer working with Starlink, who spoke to TechCabal, explained the reasoning behind the pause: “It happens when the area cannot take a new customer due to its designed capacity at the time. This also ensures optimal network connectivity for the other users within the same geographical area.” 

Expanding this capacity, he added, often requires either new satellite launches or regulatory permissions to build more ground infrastructure.

High Costs and Shrinking Base

Starlink’s service has become more expensive since its 2022 entry into Nigeria. The monthly subscription has climbed from around ₦38,000 to nearly ₦56,000 by 2025, with hardware kits priced between ₦300,000 and ₦670,000 depending on the model. The company blamed the naira’s depreciation, operating costs, and compliance with NCC regulations.

The hikes triggered strong complaints from users. In October 2024, the NCC sanctioned Starlink for unauthorised increases, noting breaches of Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act. The regulator forced a rollback from ₦75,000 to ₦38,000 monthly before eventually approving moderated adjustments in early 2025.

But the damage was already visible. NCC data shows active Starlink subscribers fell from 65,564 in Q4 2024 to 59,509 in Q1 2025, a 9% drop and the company’s first decline in Nigeria since launch. Analysts pointed to high tariffs, economic hardship, and service delays from capacity freezes as key drivers of the fall.

Network Quality Under Scrutiny

Even with over 6.2 million global users as of July 2025 and more than 900 satellites launched this year, Starlink’s speeds in Nigeria remain below regional averages. Reports place its Nigerian download speeds at 49.6 Mbps, significantly lower than Botswana’s 106.4 Mbps. Experts attribute the gap to fewer satellites serving Nigeria, overcrowded cells in major cities, and a limited number of terrestrial Points of Presence.

Alternatives Emerging

While Starlink remains Nigeria’s largest satellite internet provider, its difficulties have opened room for competitors. YahClick, supported by Nigerian ISPs, offers plans from ₦25,000 per month. Tizeti has rolled out solar-powered broadband at ₦5,000 monthly, targeting underserved communities. Eutelsat Konnect, though pricier at $18,500 per month, promises up to 100 Mbps speeds.

Starlink’s issues in Nigeria is a pattern across Africa. Countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have also faced pauses in urban areas where demand has outpaced available capacity. Yet, Nigeria’s sheer scale, driven by remote work, e-learning, and video streaming, means that congestion here poses a sharper challenge.

Thousands of Nigerian households are now on waiting lists, uncertain when—or if—Starlink will open the door again.

However, Lagos is still the most prominent African city on the list and Nigeria’s single representative in the global top 100. 

The commercial hub scored 11.226 on the Index and recorded annual ecosystem growth of +14.7%, healthy growth by many measures, yet not enough to stop the slide in rank. 

At national level, Nigeria now sits 66th globally; the country recorded $176.4m in startup funding in 2024, has two unicorns, and counts 57 Y Combinator startups, but national ecosystem growth is +5.4%, and Nigeria slipped two places overall. 

Fintech is still the engine. The country “tops Africa’s unicorn charts” and the report reveals names you already know: Moniepoint and Flutterwave, both listed as unicorns and flagged among Lagos’ notable ecosystem champions (SB Scores: Moniepoint 669; Flutterwave 640). Nonetheless, the Index shows fintech’s success is concentrated: Lagos accounts for the vast majority of Nigeria’s startup growth. 

In simple terms, Lagos tops other cities across Nigeria. StartupBlink finds Lagos’s ecosystem is 11.8 times larger than Abuja’s, illustrating how national performance hinges on one city.

Abuja did, however, post extraordinary growth this cycle, climbing into the global top 400 at 399th with annual growth above 50%, the only Nigerian city to record a global climb in 2025. 

Other regional cities show mixed fortunes as Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt and a newly listed Ilorin appear in the top 1,000 but most recorded declines. 

There is momentum — and there are gaps. Lagos benefits from a dense support network: Lagos Angel Network, Growth Capital Fund, Ventures Platform and Greenhouse Capital all play visible roles, while non-profits such as FATE Foundation provide training and mentoring. 

The federal architecture has started to respond: the Nigerian Startup Act, a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and a Startup Investment Seed Fund are now on the books. The government has also struck a public-private arrangement with JICA to seed a new fund. These steps matter; they show policy finally following promise. 

Infrastructure and capital remain the choke points. The report flags a shortage of financing options, low purchasing power, and a practical disconnect between Lagos and other local ecosystems. 

It notes that Nigeria’s internet quality has improved, Starlink came in during 2023, and that NigComSat’s 2024 accelerator has begun to seed activity in space and satellite technologies (20 startups were selected for intensive spacetech mentorship). Still, the broader infrastructure deficit and limited local capital markets hold back scaling. 

What this means for founders and investors

Lagos is still the gateway. If you are scaling a fintech or consumer startup with innovation across West Africa, Lagos offers the customers, talent and networks you need. 

But I’d caution founders to plan for friction; payments, purchasing power limitations and uneven support outside Lagos are real risks. The Index suggests diversification of hubs inside Nigeria must be a priority if the country wants comprehensive, resilient growth. 

A few immediate implications for policymakers and ecosystem builders (drawn from the report):

• Invest in road-and-digital infrastructure outside Lagos to reduce the games-of chance that currently shape who succeeds. 
• Scale financing instruments that target growth (not just seed), and encourage closer ties between Lagos capital and provincial startups.
• Sustain public-private programmes (like the JICA fund and NigComSat accelerator) that move beyond pilot stage into long-term commitments.

To close, the StartupBlink Index 2025 shows that Lagos is Africa’s headline startup ecosystem and Nigeria’s growth engine. However, the nation’s overall ranking and the concentration of success in one city expose strategic fragilities. 

If investors leverage Lagos as a launchpad, and aggressively invest in the next tier of cities, Nigerian entrepreneurship becomes broad, durable and not just Lagos-dependent.

This is the steepest decline among Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country, pointing to the widening gap between the promises of broadband expansion and the challenging market realities these providers face.

Between Q3 2024 and Q1 2025, FibreOne’s subscriber base fell from 33,010 to just over 19,000, according to data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). 

This happened as ISPs collectively shed over 18,000 users and 18 companies exited the market. While Starlink declined by 9% and Spectranet by 2.08%, FibreOne’s near-collapse stands out.

Several forces converged to drive this drop, chief among them being Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions. A 50% increase in telecom tariffs approved in February 2025, coupled with rising diesel prices, FX imbalance, and expensive infrastructure, has pushed fixed broadband beyond the reach of many households and businesses. For FibreOne and others, this has turned retention into an uphill battle.

Mobile networks, meanwhile, have stayed untouched. MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile collectively hold over 141.9 million internet users as of April 2025. Their edge? Affordability, accessibility, and increasing forays into Fibre to the Home (FTTH), where they’re now challenging traditional ISPs with flexible pricing and wider reach.

But FibreOne’s downfall exposes a lack of strategy, poor adaptability, and the absence of policy support. Telecom analyst Jide Awe told TechCabal: “ISPs like FibreOne are feeling the full weight of Nigeria’s economic realities.”

Awe believes there’s still a path forward if ISPs adapt. “They should consider bundling services, target underserved sectors like education and healthcare, and invest in solar solutions to cut operating costs,” he said.

FibreOne is not alone in this struggle, but it may be the most visible casualty of an ecosystem in retreat. While mobile data has become the default for most Nigerians, the downside is becoming more obvious, mobile internet cannot handle the demands of e-learning, telemedicine, enterprise networking, or institutional-scale connectivity.

Diseye Isoun, CEO of Content Oasis, offered a more structural critique: “At the end of the day, ISPs are treated as peripheral, but they are critical to the broadband ecosystem—especially for schools, hospitals, and local businesses. What’s missing is policy—not just investment—that ensures ISPs can serve strategic access points.”

Isoun advocates a model inspired by Brazil’s Telebras—government-backed partnerships with vetted ISPs to guarantee broadband in priority sectors. It’s a contrast to Nigeria’s market-driven approach, which continues to choke out smaller ISPs and leaves critical institutions under-connected.

The data reflects this squeeze. In Q4 2023, Nigeria had 252 licensed ISPs; only 106 were active. By Q1 2025, licensed ISPs had dropped to 234, with just 127 operational. The gap between those with licences and those who can afford to stay in business is increasing.

The situation with Starlink further complicates matters. Initially celebrated as a game-changer for remote connectivity, Starlink has faced underwhelming adoption. Its monthly fees rose from ₦38,000 to ₦57,000 in early 2025, pricing out average users. 

A Starlink retailer confirmed the retreat: “Many Nigerians are cutting down on their subscriptions. I know a couple of people who have scaled down on the subs.”

As the broadband market thins out, what remains is a fragmented sector, over-reliant on mobile operators, with serious implications for national digital capacity.

Nnamdi Richards, a telecom expert, suggested structural reform: “We may need a solution similar to what was done with the banking sector: mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, SEC listings. That could help stabilise some of them financially.”

He also pointed to seasonal risks ISPs now face: “We’re in the rainy season now, and lightning strikes and flooded communities. This is a nightmare for small ISPs without the capacity to cope.”

Without urgent reforms, strategic partnerships, and smarter pricing, Nigeria risks sidelining an important pillar of its digital sustainability.