MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has invested more than N1.6 trillion in network infrastructure since the beginning of 2025, as rising internet consumption pushed data revenue above voice earnings for the first time and accelerated the telecommunications operator’s shift towards a data-led business model.
The company said it invested N620.5 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, with the spending directed towards expanding network capacity, improving service quality and preparing for sustained growth in mobile internet traffic.
According to Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, the investment had expanded the company’s network to more than 62,000 sites and 16 switching centres, lifting population coverage to 93.7 percent on 2G, 87.6 percent on 3G, 84.6 percent on 4G and 12.8 percent on 5G.
The scale of investment reflects the structural transformation underway in Nigeria’s telecoms market, where smartphones, digital platforms, streaming, financial technology and business applications are driving demand for mobile data.
MTN’s data revenue increased 38.4 percent year-on-year to N1.70 trillion in the first half of 2026, overtaking voice revenue of N993 billion and becoming the company’s largest source of service income.
Toriola said the company was deliberately investing ahead of demand because network capacity had to be available before customers could consume additional data.
“Every additional gigabyte consumed requires capacity that must be built and paid for before the revenue arrives. That is why investment leads demand, not the other way round,” he noted.
MTN’s growing data business is being supported by a rapidly expanding base of internet users.
Active data subscribers increased 9.3 percent to 55.7 million during the period, while smartphone penetration rose to 66.4 percent.
Average monthly data consumption per subscriber also increased 15.2 percent year-on-year to 14.8 gigabytes, indicating that existing users are consuming significantly more bandwidth as digital services become embedded in everyday economic activity.
The company said its infrastructure programme included network densification, additional base stations, fibre deployment, 5G fixed wireless broadband and the construction of a new data centre.
Meanwhile, the company’s 5G population coverage remains relatively low compared with its 2G, 3G and 4G networks, but the continued rollout of fifth-generation infrastructure is expected to support higher-speed connectivity and new enterprise and consumer applications.
The expansion has taken place against a difficult operating environment characterised by inflation, elevated energy costs and foreign exchange volatility.
Modupe Kadri, MTN Nigeria’s chief financial officer, said the company had maintained aggressive capital expenditure while exercising greater discipline over operating costs.
He said operating expenses increased by 11.3 percent, significantly below the company’s 25.9 percent revenue growth, while the operator renegotiated tower leases to reduce foreign exchange exposure and limit escalation.
The company has also eliminated its foreign-currency loan exposure after repaying all outstanding obligations.
MTN’s foreign debt had peaked at $417 million in 2023, making the elimination of the exposure an important step in reducing the company’s vulnerability to exchange-rate movements.
Kadri said the balance-sheet adjustment would strengthen the company’s ability to withstand currency volatility while maintaining investment in network infrastructure.
However, he stressed that continued investment would depend on a predictable regulatory and commercial environment.
“Long-cycle capital needs regulatory predictability, a workable pricing framework and protection of critical national assets. Where that environment has held, investment has followed,” he added.
N1.5tn injected into local economy
Beyond its direct network investments, MTN said it contributed about N1.5 trillion to the Nigerian economy through payments to local suppliers and service providers during the first half of 2026.
The company also remitted N622.6 billion in taxes, spectrum fees, import duties, VAT and other statutory obligations during the period.
The figures highlight the wider economic footprint of the telecommunications industry, which has become an increasingly important source of infrastructure investment, fiscal revenue and demand for local services.
For MTN, the rising contribution of data to service revenue is also changing the economics of its network investment strategy.
As voice services mature and data consumption continues to accelerate, the operator is increasingly dependent on the ability to expand capacity, deploy fibre and upgrade mobile technology while keeping connectivity affordable enough to sustain subscriber growth.
The company’s first-half performance therefore points to a telecoms market in which future revenue growth will increasingly be determined by data consumption rather than traditional voice traffic.
With more than N1.6 trillion invested since the beginning of 2025, MTN is betting that Nigeria’s expanding digital economy will generate sufficient demand to support the next phase of network investment.
The challenge will be maintaining that investment momentum while managing energy, equipment, foreign exchange and regulatory costs in an industry where capacity must be deployed ahead of the revenue it ultimately generates.
