Airtel Nigeria has announced plans to launch a second internet breakout point from southern Nigeria, a move that could significantly improve internet resilience and speed across large parts of the country.
Speaking during a media roundtable in Lagos, Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said the new breakout will leverage the 2Africa submarine cable, with traffic set to be carried from Kwa Ibo in Akwa Ibom State.
The development marks a major shift for Nigeria, which currently relies on a single internet submarine cable landing and breakout point in Lagos.
According to Airtel, this will create a faster and alternative path for large parts of the North and South, and improve resilience for the entire ecosystem.
What the Airtel CEO is saying
Balsingh said the new internet breakout is supported by Airtel Nigeria’s expanding fibre backbone, which now spans almost all states following years of sustained investment.
After announcing plans to double capital expenditure last year, the telecom operator committed to expanding its fibre network by 25%.
According to the company, intensive rollout activities are ongoing across cities and states, with further extensions planned both within major urban centres and between states.
- “Over the last two years, we have invested with discipline and clarity to strengthen our network nationwide.
- “Those investments are now translating into measurable improvements in performance, customer experience and reach, including in underserved and hard to reach communities,” Balsingh said.
He added that network upgrades will accelerate in 2026 as Nigeria’s data consumption continues to rise, noting that future industry leadership will depend on long-term planning.
More insights
At the core of Airtel Nigeria’s quality of service push is the rapid expansion of its network footprint.
Since December 2023, the company has increased its number of network sites by 15.5%, adding 2,242 new sites and bringing its total to nearly 16,711 nationwide.
- The company said additional deployments are planned in 2026 to strengthen coverage, capacity and resilience across both urban and rural locations.
- Network capacity upgrades have also been scaled significantly. In 2025 alone, Airtel completed capacity enhancements on 30% of its sites, covering more than 5,032 locations nationwide.
- As a result, the company said 99% of its sites now deliver high-speed 4G mobile broadband, positioning the operator as a fully nationwide 4G network.
- Airtel said it is also accelerating its 5G rollout. Over the past three months, the company has more than doubled the number of active 5G sites.
The ongoing upgrade is expected to connect the top 20 Nigerian cities to high-speed 5G networks, with a significant portion of Airtel’s infrastructure in those cities becoming 5G-enabled within the next year.
What you should know
Despite the aggressive push for 5G rollout, coverage is still limited across the country and even in major cities where the operators first rolled out the service.
- According to the recent data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), about 55.4% of Lagos State remains without 5G coverage as of Q4 2025.
- Recall that MTN launched Nigeria’s first 5G in September 2022. Airtel Nigeria followed suit in June 2023.
- Meanwhile, the third operator, Mafab Communications, which issued a 5G licence, Mafab Communications, has remained in limbo, despite announcing its launch in January 2023.
However, the NCC report noted that in areas where 5G is available, user experience has largely met expectations set during the spectrum auction.
