MTN, Airtel invest over N6bn to bring 4G, 5G networks to Nigerians

At least N613 billion has been invested into infrastructure by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa to bring 4G and 5G networks to Nigerians.

This is contained in financial statements of the two telcos as summed up by analysts.

According to a filing from MTN, the company spent N504.33bn on network rollout in 2022.

Airtel, on the other hand, invested N108.79bn ($236m) during the same period.

The new figure pushes total investment by 14.19 per cent from N536.91bn spent in 2021.

Reacting to the rise, MTN said: “Capital expenditure was N504.3bn, up 23.5 per cent, due to acceleration in coverage expansion, focusing on the 4G and 5G networks and our rural telephony programme.

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“We deployed 9,027 4G sites, 588 5G sites and 778 rural sites. 4G accounted for approximately 76 per cent of the total sites deployed during the year. Core Capex, excluding the right-of-use assets, increased by 18.6 per cent to N361.0bn, slightly above plan to enable us to capture growth opportunities.

“Our accelerated Capex investments allowed us to capture growth opportunities in the data space while mitigating foreign exchange and supply chain disruption risks and the impact of rising inflation. Notwithstanding, the Capex intensity of 17.9 per cent was in line with our target levels, reflecting our disciplined approach to capital allocation. Free cash flow was up by 20.7 per cent to N566.0bn.”

Airtel Africa’s Chief Executive officer, Segun Ogunsanya, who commented on the group’s investment strategy said:

“Over the last nine months we have spent almost $490m on 4G and 5G spectrum across key markets to improve network capacity and quality, future-proof the company for continued growth opportunities and facilitate economic progress in all our markets.”