Lagos: Airtel Nigeria has announced plans for a significant network expansion in 2026, aiming to enhance coverage, capacity, and digital resilience across the nation. The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Dinesh Balsingh, revealed this during a media roundtable held in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Balsingh explained that between December 2023 and early 2025, Airtel expanded its network footprint by approximately 15 percent, increasing the number of sites from about 15,000 to 17,000. He noted that the company plans to replicate this level of expansion again in 2026. The investments are targeted at deep rural communities, small towns, and the outskirts of major cities, focusing on improving network coverage, capacity, and resilience.
Balsingh highlighted Airtel’s deployment of satellite technology in remote locations where fibre access is impractical, mentioning that communities in Adamawa and other northern regions of Nigeria are now connected via Starlink. He emphasized the importance of digital connectivity for everyone, including those in remote areas. Additionally, Balsingh pointed out that about 25 percent of Airtel’s existing sites were upgraded in 2025, with enhancements such as higher-capacity radios and a shift from microwave to fibre backhaul.
Airtel has also made strides in enabling 4G across 99.99 percent of its network sites, even in remote areas, with a 20 percent increase in spectrum capacity to meet growing data demands. Balsingh described 4G as the backbone of mobile data usage, comparing expanding spectrum to widening a highway for traffic. Regarding 5G, he noted that Airtel has more than doubled its 5G sites in the past three months and plans to transition about 25 percent of its network in the top 20 cities to 5G gradually.
Furthermore, Balsingh said Airtel is expanding its fibre backbone by about 25 percent and has nearly completed half of this rollout. The company is also planning a second internet breakout point from southern Nigeria to bolster national network resilience. Investments are being made to enhance Airtel’s artificial intelligence and data centre capabilities, including a hyperscaler-ready facility aimed at supporting advanced analytics, network automation, and consumer protection services.
Despite challenges such as fibre cuts and infrastructure damage, Balsingh acknowledged governmental and regulatory efforts to protect telecom assets under the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) framework. He expressed satisfaction with the measures being taken to reduce fibre cuts, which impact all operators and consumers. Balsingh reiterated Airtel’s commitment to continued investment in Nigeria, describing 2026 as a pivotal year for network and digital infrastructure development in the country.