Airtel Nigeria has accelerated the expansion of its fifth-generation (5G) network, integrating more than 1,000 new 5G sites in the last one year as rising data consumption puts increasing pressure on mobile networks across the country.

The rollout, which gained momentum from August 2025, has seen the telecommunications firm integrate 759 5G sites since December alone, extending the reach of high-speed connectivity beyond its initial deployment areas across major cities and urban centres.

The latest expansion comes as Nigerians consume increasing volumes of mobile data, driven by the growing use of smartphones, video streaming, cloud applications, artificial intelligence (AI) tools, digital commerce and other bandwidth-intensive services.

The mobile network provider reported that data usage per customer in Nigeria increased by 30.8 per cent during the year to 11GB per month, while smartphone data consumption reached 13.7GB per customer per month.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

The sharp increase in consumption is putting greater emphasis on network capacity as consumers increasingly rely on mobile connectivity for work, entertainment, education, financial transactions and communication.

The telecommunications company launched its 5G service in Nigeria in June 2023, becoming one of the first operators to commercially deploy the technology in Nigeria. Three years after the launch, the latest investment represents a significant acceleration in the firm's network expansion.

The company's chief technology officer, Harmanpreet Singh Dhillon, said the scale of the deployment reflected the country's increasing dependence on digital connectivity.

"The scale of our 5G deployment reflects the pace at which Nigeria is becoming a digital economy. Customers are using more data, businesses are moving more of their operations online, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence are creating entirely new demands on connectivity," Dhillon said.

He said the firm was building its network to accommodate both existing and emerging digital services as data consumption continues to rise.

"Our objective is to provide customers with a network that is faster, more responsive and capable of handling significantly greater volumes of data. We are continuing to expand 5G across key locations so that more Nigerians can experience the benefits of the technology as the ecosystem develops," he said.

Meanwhile, the deployment of the new sites is expected to improve network capacity and performance for consumers, particularly in locations experiencing increased demand for mobile data. For smartphone users, wider 5G availability could support faster downloads and uploads, smoother video calls, improved streaming and greater responsiveness when using data-intensive applications.

Also, the additional capacity and lower latency associated with 5G could support digital payments, cloud-based applications, online commerce, remote collaboration and other technology-enabled operations, as larger enterprises could leverage the technology for connected systems, advanced cloud services and other data-intensive applications, while educational institutions could benefit from improved access to virtual classrooms, digital learning platforms and collaborative tools.

The teleco's network expansion also comes at a time when interest in AI is increasing in Nigeria. As more AI applications depend on cloud computing and the transfer of large volumes of data, reliable and high-capacity connectivity is becoming increasingly important to their deployment and use.

Director, Airtel Business, Ogo Ofomata, said the company's network investment was aimed at ensuring that consumers and businesses were not left behind as digital services become more central to economic activities. "The way Nigerians live, work, learn and do business is changing rapidly. Connectivity has become central to that change. As more people depend on their smartphones for work, entertainment, commerce, education and communication, the quality and capacity of the network become increasingly important," Ofomata said.

She added that the expansion would provide customers with greater capacity to adopt emerging digital services. "5G is creating room for a much richer digital experience. It supports the kind of speed and responsiveness that consumers increasingly expect, while giving businesses the capacity to build and deliver new digital services. Our job is to make sure the network is ready for that future," she said.

The latest deployment highlights the growing relationship between network investment and Nigeria's expanding digital economy. As data consumption continues to rise, operators are under increasing pressure to expand capacity, improve coverage and deploy newer technologies capable of supporting heavier traffic.

Consequently, the integration of more than 1,000 5G sites within a year represents a major step in expanding the technology beyond the mobil network provider's earlier footprint. The 759 sites added since December alone account for a substantial part of the recent expansion.

The development also comes as Nigeria's telecommunications industry continues to contend with the need for sustained investment in infrastructure to meet growing demand for broadband and mobile data services.