Airtel Africa has confirmed that it will invest US$70 million in additional spectrum, to boost its LTE coverage in Nigeria.
The company will purchase an additional 10MHz block of spectrum in the 900MHz band from Intercellular Nigeria.
“Data is a key pillar of our growth strategy, driven by increasing 4G networks and supported by the increased affordability and increasing penetration of smartphones,” said Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa.
“With an overall smartphone penetration of more than 35% and data consumption growing by 92% in the six months’ period ended 30 September 2019, Nigeria presents a significant growth opportunity in data. The acquisition of this spectrum will enable us to further deliver on this growth opportunity and continue to offer our Nigerian customers an enhanced user experience.”
Airtel Africa is present in 14 countries across Africa, with over 100 million subscribers spread across the continent.
Airtel Africa recently raised $750 million at its Initial Public Offering in London, earlier this year, as the company looked to raise funds to expand its mobile networks across the continent.