Airtel Africa plans $1.1 billion investment in networks and infrastructure
Airtel Africa is putting $1.1 billion into towers, fibre and data centres across the continent - here's what it means for coverage, competition and your data bill.
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Airtel Africa plans to spend about $1.1 billion on its networks and digital infrastructure in the 2026/27 financial year, with Nigeria among the markets getting more investment. The company spent $884 million on capital expenditure in the year to March 2026. The new investment plan represents an increase of about $216 million. The money will be used for network expansion, fibre, spectrum, home broadband and data centres. Nigeria is one of the biggest areas of increased spending. Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar said the company's capital investment in Nigeria has almost doubled. Airtel has not disclosed how much of the $1.1 billion will be allocated to Nigeria.
Airtel is adding network capacity
Airtel's investment comes as customers across its markets continue to use more data. The company said data volumes are growing by more than 50%. It added more than 3,250 network sites during the last financial year and extended its fibre network by around 3,200 kilometres. This took Airtel Africa's total fibre network to about 81,900 kilometres. The company expects to continue adding sites and fibre as data use increases. Nigeria has some additional costs. Airtel relies on diesel generators at network sites where electricity from the grid is unreliable. Taldar said running a diesel-powered site can cost almost four times more than running a site connected to the grid.
Airtel Africa is increasing its investment as data use rises and its Nigerian operation requires more network spending.
Telecom infrastructure is also being damaged and vandalised. The Nigerian government has classified telecom infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, although Airtel says the classification needs to be properly enforced.
Data centres are also getting investment
Airtel's spending is not limited to mobile networks. The company is investing in home broadband and data centres, with its Nxtra by Airtel Africa business developing facilities in markets including Nigeria and Kenya. Airtel is also looking at the infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence as demand for computing capacity increases. But most of the $1.1 billion will still go towards the core network, including new sites, additional capacity and fibre. Airtel Africa operates in 14 markets. It estimates that smartphone and telecom penetration across these markets are both around 50%. That gives the company room to connect more customers while also dealing with higher data use from those already on its networks. For Airtel, the bigger investment is about keeping up with both sides of that equation.
