Airtel Nigeria has deployed more than 1,000 5G telecom towers in 2026 as part of a sustainability-focused investment drive aimed at improving network quality for its subscribers, according to Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Balsingh.

Speaking in his opening address at the launch of the Airtel Open Network on Friday, October 30, the Airtel Nigeria chief said the infrastructure investments are designed to increase connectivity and support for customers, and to strengthen the operator's ability to respond to subscribers' needs.

The development comes at a time when Nigerians are demanding stronger networks amid surging internet penetration, increased smartphone use, and a growing need for high-speed network infrastructure across the country.

With the additional 1,000 sites built to meet high-speed internet demand, Airtel intends to complement the Open Network platform, an initiative that strengthens the operator's efforts to better connect with users and improve the customer experience. Balsingh said achieving this requires sustained investment in infrastructure, sound engineering, effective maintenance, and well-supported customer service.

"In the last financial year, Airtel Nigeria added more than 1,050 new sites and has surpassed 17,000 sites nationwide. Our expectation includes communities that are providing conventional infrastructure that can be particularly challenging," he said.

"This year, 2026 alone, Airtel has added more than 1,000 5G sites to towns, expanding access to high-speed connectivity across the country. We are also expanding our physical presence, so customers can reach us at any time they want," the Airtel chief said on Friday.

The scale of this year's build-out stands out when set against those figures: the 1,000-plus 5G sites added in 2026 alone nearly match the more than 1,050 new sites Airtel added across its entire nationwide network in the previous financial year.

The investment drive complements figures disclosed by the operator's parent company, Airtel Africa, in its latest earnings statement. In terms of infrastructure deployment, the group said it spent ₦884.8 billion ($657 million) on capital expenditure and added 4,200 sites during the half-year to September 2026.

Balsingh noted that the operator has added more facilities to improve customer relationships and to better understand the challenges faced by the population it serves. "We have over 9,000 exclusive shops across every local government area, and we have more than 73,000 retail units nationwide," he said, adding: "We now have more than 225 renewed exchange resources and plan to take that to another 500." That stated plan — from 225 to 500 — provides a concrete benchmark for tracking how the operator's service-quality commitments progress.

Airtel Nigeria launched the Open Network platform as part of its effort to understand customers' needs and engage meaningfully with their feedback. The initiative allows subscribers to view network coverage, check mobile tower locations, and report signal issues directly. By exposing tower locations and coverage data to public view, the platform lets subscribers measure the operator's coverage claims against their own day-to-day experience on the network. The introduction follows a recent increase in consumer complaints and the difficulties subscribers face with poor network quality, disrupted calls, and slower-than-expected internet speeds.

"We know and acknowledge that there are still challenges to address, and we take those concerns seriously," Balsingh stated.

On the drive to address those challenges, he said: "For both retail and for enterprise customers, our ambition remains to provide best-in-class quality of service and we understand that it must be earned through consistent performance."

The network expansion accompanies strong financial results for the half-year ended September 2026. Airtel Nigeria's revenue grew by 45% to ₦1.37 trillion ($1.014 billion), surpassing the ₦941.2 billion ($699 million) generated in the same period last year. Data revenue expanded by 52.7% to ₦732.6 billion ($544 million), up from ₦480.7 billion ($357 million), reflecting increasing smartphone penetration and growing data consumption. Voice revenue grew 37.8% to ₦498.24 billion ($370 million), while underlying EBITDA increased 50.2% to ₦793.15 billion ($589 million), with the EBITDA margin expanding to 58.1%.

The total customer base increased by 15.1% to 61.7 million from 53.6 million in the previous period, while internet subscribers have now reached 32.9 million, up from 29.5 million — meaning internet users now account for more than half of the operator's total base, a shift consistent with data revenue outpacing voice revenue over the half-year.

Source: TechNext24