Airtel Africa hits 81,500km fibre network as data demand surges

Airtel Africa, one of the largest telecommunication companies on the continent, expanded its fibre network to more than 81,500 kilometres as of December 2025, reinforcing its drive to improve connectivity across its 14 markets, according to the company’s latest financial report. 

The company added about 4,000 km of new fibre in the past nine months, pushing population coverage to 81.7%, up 0.6% percentage points from last year.

The fibre rollout is part of an accelerated investment programme that saw Airtel Africa spend $603 million in capital expenditure, up 32.2% from the previous period. The company also deployed around 2,500 new sites to enhance network coverage and capacity, as demand for high-speed data continues to surge across the continent.

Chief executive officer, Sunil Taldar, said the continued infrastructure build-out reflects the operator’s confidence in the long-term growth potential of its markets. 

“These results highlight the strength of our strategy, with strong operating and financial trends across the business,” Taldar said. “We accelerated investment to enhance coverage and data capacity while also expanding our fibre network. Coupling this investment with innovative partnerships strengthens our customer proposition and positions us to capture the considerable growth opportunity across our markets.”

Airtel Africa’s growing fibre footprint is critical to supporting rising smartphone adoption, now at 48.1% penetration, as well as the increasing need for reliable, high-speed connectivity for homes, businesses, and digital services. 

A broader fibre backbone lowers the cost of delivering data, improves network resilience, and enables the faster rollout of advanced services such as mobile money, home broadband, and enterprise connectivity.

The expansion also positions Airtel Africa to better integrate emerging technologies, such as AI-driven network optimisation and digital service automation, to improve customer experience. 

The investment push coincides with robust financial performance. Group revenue grew 28.3% in reported currency to $4.67 billion, while constant currency revenue rose  24.6%. 

Nigeria led growth with a 50.6% constant currency revenue expansion, driven by tariff adjustments and supported by a sharp appreciation of the naira during Q3 2026. Francophone Africa and East Africa also recorded double-digit growth.

Mobile services revenue rose 26.6%, with data revenue surging 36.5%, while mobile money revenue climbed 34.9%, reflecting the growing relevance of digital financial services.

Airtel Africa is also deepening partnerships to complement its fibre rollouts. In December 2025, it became the first African operator to partner with SpaceX’s Starlink Direct-to-Cell service, enabling satellite-based mobile connectivity in areas without terrestrial coverage. The company also signed major infrastructure-sharing agreements with Vodacom and MTN to accelerate network expansion in Tanzania, the DRC, Uganda, and Nigeria.