MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Africa are increasing their core capital expenditures to address the country’s skyrocketing data demand. A February 2025 report from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that monthly internet usage surged by 93.35 percent, reaching an all-time high of 1,000,930.6 terabytes (TB) in January 2025, compared to 517,670.15 TB in January 2023. This exponential growth is attributed to the rising popularity of social media, streaming platforms, and digital services.
Telecom Firms Raise Investments to Meet Data Boom
MTN Nigeria reported a 42.9 percent increase in data traffic, with average data consumption per user rising by 33.6 percent in Q4 2024. Airtel Africa also witnessed a significant jump, as monthly data usage per subscriber rose from 6.2 GB to 8.4 GB, marking a 37.2 percent increase.
To keep pace with this surge, telecom companies increased their capital expenditures in late 2024 and plan to invest further in 2025. MTN spent N225.85 billion on capital expenditures in Q4 2024, making up 50.93 percent of its total core network investment of N443.48 billion for the year. The company reaffirmed its commitment to expanding network infrastructure to sustain future growth.
“We accelerated capex deployment in Q4 to accommodate the stronger-than-expected data traffic growth on our networks,” MTN stated.
Airtel Africa, which serves 57.67 million Nigerian customers, spent $456 million on capital expenditures between April and December 2024. The company plans to inject an additional $294 million by March 2025, bringing total investments to $750 million within a year.
Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa, emphasized the company’s strategic focus on growth:
“We remain committed to investing for the future by expanding our distribution and network to ensure that we capture this significant growth opportunity on offer. The scale of data traffic growth across our markets – an increase of 49 percent over the last year – is a testament to the investments we have made and the relentless focus on our strategy to create value for all our stakeholders.”
Tariff Hike to Support Infrastructure Expansion
Despite the increased demand, telecom operators struggled throughout 2024 due to financial constraints and foreign exchange volatility. Both MTN and Airtel redirected funds that could have been used for infrastructure growth to repay $1.2 billion in foreign loans. This resulted in stalled investments and deteriorating service quality nationwide.
To counteract this decline, the NCC recently approved the first telecom pricing increase since 2013, granting operators a 50 percent tariff hike. The regulatory body has also given telcos three months to improve network quality or face penalties.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola highlighted how the tariff adjustment will provide much-needed financial relief:
“At the end of the day, no cash was left to pay our bills. No cash is left in the account. We were burning 120 percent of our cash flow. These adjustments will support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved services and connectivity, including better network quality, enhanced customer service, and greater coverage. Based on our projections, there would be more cash flow, meaning additional funding to expand and provide quality of service, redundancy, and better customer experience.”
Airtel Nigeria CEO Dinesh Balsingh echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the company’s commitment to network expansion:
“The price increase will enable us to continue investing in network infrastructure, expanding coverage, and delivering improved products and services that meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
With increased investments and a renewed focus on network expansion, Nigerian telecom operators are gearing up to enhance service quality and sustain the country’s digital transformation.
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