Airtel Nigeria innovates to meet rising data demand, urbanisation challenges

Airtel Nigeria has reiterated commitment to focus on network innovation and customer experience to meet the increasing demand for data services, especially in rapidly urbanising cities across the country.

The Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, said this during a media roundtable event on Tuesday in Lagos.

Balsingh said the company would continue to embrace infrastructural development to keep pace with Nigeria’s fast-changing urban landscape, evolving customer trends, and the rising appetite for digital connectivity.

“Cities are evolving rapidly. We are seeing high-rises, expanding boundaries, and increasing density. Each neighborhood, each floor in a building, can have a different network experience,” he said.

To address these challenges, Balsingh said Airtel was deploying AI-powered customer experience tools that move beyond traditional network performance metrics to monitor how subscribers interact with the network in real time.

“Before, we used to rely on network APIs. Now, we’re moving to customer experience APIs. Every data session, every call you make, gives us insight into where we need to improve,” he explained.

He added that Airtel was actively rolling out distributed network solutions such as small cells on lampposts, rooftops, and water stations to provide coverage in dense and complex areas like Computer Village and Third Mainland Bridge.

“Cities are not just large zones. They are rooms, floors, buildings. That’s the level of detail we are going into now,” he said.

Fiber connectivity, he noted, remains a critical enabler for data capacity and 5G expansion.

Balsingh said Airtel has relocated over 3,000 kilometers of fiber in the past two years to improve reliability and mitigate disruptions caused by construction or roadworks.

“The vision is to have every site connected to fiber. It’s a massive investment focus. Most of our capital expenditure is going in that direction,” he said.

He commended the Federal Government and the Nigerian Communications Commission for the recent designation of fiber infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure, making willful damage or vandalism a criminal offence.

On rural access, Balsingh disclosed that Airtel was exploring satellite partnerships including Starlink and OneWeb for backhaul connectivity to extend 4G data services to hard-to-reach communities.

“You can’t cover the whole of Nigeria with traditional towers. In many areas, terrain and access are major issues. Satellite is key for backhaul where fiber isn’t viable,” he said.

Balsingh emphasised that Airtel’s three key focus areas were network quality, customer-centricity, and innovation which would drive the company’s strategy in Nigeria’s dynamic digital landscape.

Speaking on its AI spam alert, he revealed that it blocks up to 30 million spam messages every month, a strategic effort aimed at safeguarding its network and ensuring customers enjoy safe, seamless, and reliable connectivity.

Balsingh said this was part of a broader campaign to curb fraudulent calls, malicious links, and unsolicited messages that threaten digital trust and user experience.

“At Airtel, we take customer safety seriously, spammers have realised that our network is not a free channel for abuse.

“We are actively identifying and blocking unwanted traffic before it reaches our users. This robust anti-spam operation leverages advanced monitoring systems, spam filters, and automated threat detection tools,” he said.

According to him, the blocking of these spam messages has already led to a notable reduction in customer complaints, while helping to restore public confidence in mobile and digital communications.