# Airtel Nigeria Adds More Than 1,000 5G Sites in 2026, Pushing Network Past 17,000

> Airtel Nigeria added more than 1,000 5G sites in 2026, taking its network beyond 17,000 sites, and launched an Open Network feedback feature on its app.

- Published: 2026-10-31T01:23:55+00:00
- Section: Expansion
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-31/airtel-nigeria-5g-sites-expansion
- Source: [Punch Newspapers](https://punchng.com/airtel-nigeria-deploys-1000-additional-5g-sites/)

## Key takeaways

- Airtel Nigeria added more than 1,000 5G sites in 2026, bringing its total network beyond 17,000 sites.
- The company added more than 1,050 new sites in the last financial year, according to CEO Dinesh Balsingh.
- Airtel launched the Open Network feature on the My Airtel Africa app to collect subscriber feedback on connectivity problems.
- Airtel Nigeria plans to grow its premium experience stores from more than 225 to 500.

[Airtel Nigeria](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003vqu/airtel-nigeria) added more than 1,000 fifth-generation network sites in 2026, taking its total network beyond 17,000 sites, CEO Dinesh Balsingh said on Friday. [Punch Newspapers](https://punchng.com/airtel-nigeria-deploys-1000-additional-5g-sites/) reported the disclosure at the launch of Airtel Open Network, a feature on the My Airtel Africa app. Airtel Nigeria is the country's second-largest mobile operator, serving about 62 million subscribers through 4G and 5G networks under the Airtel Africa group.

## Balsingh Details The 5G Buildout

Balsingh said the 2026 additions expand access to high-speed connectivity nationwide. "During the last financial year, Airtel Nigeria added more than 1,050 new sites and has surpassed 17,000 sites nationwide," he said. "This year, 2026 alone, Airtel has added more than 1,000 5G sites to date, expanding access to high-speed connectivity across the country."

The Open Network feature gives subscribers information about their network experience and a channel to submit feedback that technical teams can use to locate connectivity problems. Balsingh said call centres and physical service outlets sometimes yielded imprecise details about network faults. He cautioned that the platform would not repair faults or eliminate disruptions on its own, describing it as an additional channel for gathering information.

Airtel Nigeria operates more than 225 premium experience stores and plans to raise that number to 500. It runs over 9,000 exclusive shops across local government areas and more than 73,000 retail agents nationwide. The launch follows the company's artificial intelligence-powered spam alert service, deployed in March 2025, which Balsingh said flagged more than 9.6 million suspected spam messages in its first two months.

## Airtel Nigeria's Subscriber And Data Scale

According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Airtel Nigeria held 34.09% market share as of January 2026, based on 182.2 million total active telephony subscribers in Nigeria, behind MTN's 51.78%. The same records put Airtel Nigeria's data revenue for 2025 at N838.6 billion, up 67.4% year over year, with Airtel and MTN together generating N3.6 trillion in data revenue.

## Earlier Steps Toward The 2026 Rollout

President Bola Tinubu welcomed the Open Network initiative on Friday, noting that Airtel's network grew from about 15,000 sites two years ago to over 17,000, including 1,050 new sites in 2025/26, Punch Newspapers reported. On August 31, 2026, Airtel Nigeria commissioned two premium experience centres in Lagos, taking its total past 350, TechAfrica News reported. On September 24, 2026, Airtel began a second round of airtime compensation for customers affected by poor network service between February and April 2026, with credits ranging from less than N50 to N1,500, Businessday reported.

## What Comes Next For Airtel Nigeria

Airtel Nigeria plans to increase its premium experience stores to 500 nationwide. The company's Starlink Direct-to-Cell service, announced with SpaceX across 14 African markets, is slated for a Nigeria launch in 2026 subject to regulatory approvals, according to akta.pro company records.

## Companies in this story

- [Airtel Nigeria company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003vqu/airtel-nigeria) · website: https://www.airtel.com.ng

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