Airtel Africa has launched Telesonic, a wholesale fibre unit, aiming to reshape the landscape of Africa’s wholesale data market.

The company plans to leverage Telesonic’s assets, encompassing 75,000km of terrestrial fibre and submarine cable systems across 14 countries, acquired through investments like the 2Africa submarine cable system.

Airtel Africa’s commitment to fortifying its data infrastructure is evident through the recent investment in the 2Africa submarine cable system.

Concurrently, the launch of Nxtra, the data centre business, in December 2023, solidifies the company’s position in the data realm, with plans to establish one of the largest and high-capacity data centres.

Operating primarily in East, Central, and West Africa, Airtel Africa boasts a substantial customer base, including 151.2 million users, 62.7 million data subscribers, and 37.5 million mobile money users.

With a revenue projection of $5.76 billion in 2024, the company is poised to capture a significant share of the burgeoning African data market.

Airtel Africa’s strategic vision extends to opening a sizable Nxtra facility in Lagos, Nigeria, by 2025, designed for 34MW capacity and high-density racks.

Alongside this expansion, leadership changes are on the horizon, with Sunil Taldar set to assume the role of CEO as Segun Ogunsanya, the current CEO, plans to retire on July 1, 2024.

Highlighting its financial prowess, Airtel Africa announced a $100 million share buyback program in early February 2024, signifying confidence in its operating performance.

Simultaneously, as Ogunsanya steps down, he will remain the inaugural Chair of the Airtel Africa Charitable Foundation, operating independently.

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Mobile network operators in Nigeria witnessed a significant boost in earnings, thanks to increased data consumption in the third quarter ending September 30, 2023.

Specifically, during this period, MTN reported earnings of N279.5 billion, marking a 38.9% increase, while Airtel earned N123.7 billion (equivalent to $157 million) from data subscriptions, reflecting a 29.3% growth in data revenue for the company.Together, these earnings amounted to N403.2 billion, indicating an average 34.1% rise in their combined earnings for the period under review.

MTN’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, attributed the surge in data usage and earnings to various factors. These included the revamping of MTN’s data bundle offerings, increased smartphone penetration, and investments in network infrastructure to expand coverage and improve the customer experience. The 4G network now covers 80.5% of the population, data usage per user grew by 29.1% to 8.6GB, and the number of smartphones on their network increased by 7.6%. As a result, they recorded a 46.3% growth in data traffic, with the 4G network accounting for 83.7% of total data usage.

Segun Ogunsanya, CEO of Airtel Africa, highlighted a significant increase in data consumption for Airtel Nigeria during the same period. Data revenue grew by 29.3% in constant currency, driven by a 17.4% increase in the data customer base and a 12.3% growth in data Average Revenue per User (ARPU).

Airtel’s continued rollout of 4G network services played a pivotal role, with nearly 100% of their sites now delivering 4G. Additionally, 233 5G sites became operational. For Q2 ’24, 4G customers accounted for 51.1% of their total data customer base and contributed to 85.3% of total data usage. Q2 ’24 4G data usage per customer reached 11.7GB per month, an increase of 41.3% compared to the previous year.

However, both companies acknowledged the impact of foreign exchange crises in Nigeria on their operations.

The devaluation of the Naira and VAT on lease costs, coupled with ongoing inflationary pressures, were expected to pose challenges in the upcoming quarter. Despite these challenges, MTN and Airtel remained committed to enhancing long-term value and growth in the Nigerian market.

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TECH DIGEST – Airtel Nigeria has commenced the National Identity Number (NIN) registration exercise in its retail outlets across the country following the approval from the Federal Government granting telcos verification and enrolment license to enrol Nigerians.

Airtel said in a statement that select retail outlets in Lagos and Abuja were operational to register Nigerians for NIN, adding that work was currently ongoing to expand its NIN footprints to cover more areas and states.

It added that residents of Abuja could now visit Transcorp Hilton situated in Maitama or Airtel showrooms at Carpet Plaza and Kano Crescent in Wuse 2, while those in Lagos could go to Airtel Express Point, Oyin Jolayemi, Victoria Island and Airtel showroom in Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere.

“Lagos residents can also visit the Airtel showroom in Tejuosho, Yaba; Airtel showroom in Isheri Road, Ogba and the Airtel showroom in Oba Akran, Ikeja to register for the NIN exercise,” it said.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said: “Airtel is always seeking opportunities to cooperate and partner with the Nigerian government on initiatives that will make life easier and better for Nigerians.’’

Similarly, MTN said it has commenced enrollment for National Identification Number (NIN) at some its centres in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

MTN’s Senior Manager, External Relations, Funso Aina, who said the telco had secured Nigerian Identity Management Commission licence for NIN enrollment, noted that MTN had invested in acquiring devices aligned with NIMC standard.
He also assured that the number of locations would increase with time.

“We have commenced enrollment for NIN at a limited number of locations.

“This number will rise as certification and other dependencies on the Nigerian Identity Management Commission for roll-out of such locations are addressed.’’

Meanwhile, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said in a matter of weeks every operator would start NIN enrollment.

He noted that operators had commenced preparatory arrangements in the regard of procurement, licensing and deployment.

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TECH DIGEST – The Federal Government of Nigeria has granted Airtel Nigeria, a verification and enrolment license to register citizens in the ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) programme.

The approval was contained in a notice issued recently by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

With the approval, Nigerians can now complete their NIN registration process at any accredited Airtel outlet nationwide.

Commenting on this development, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Pantami, for expanding the registration footprints and for taking definitive steps to smoothen the NIN process as well as ease the burden on Nigerians.

“Airtel is always seeking opportunities to cooperate and partner with the Nigerian government on initiatives that will make life easier and better for Nigerians. As a law abiding and responsible corporate citizen, we are always ready to go the extra mile for our esteemed stakeholders and that is why we are pleased to partner with the Federal Government and NIMC on citizens’ registration exercise,” he said.

Foreign nationals are required to present their international passports only to register a new SIM when the restriction on registration of new sims is lifted, he added.

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