Telecom
Africa Leads in Global Internet Bandwidth Growth
Africa leads the way in terms of bandwidth growth levels, experiencing the “most rapid” growth of international internet bandwidth and beating global growth estimates.
The continent experienced a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44% between 2018 and 2022, reveals telecommunications market research and consulting firm TeleGeography.
Asia’s bandwidth growth is just behind the African continent, rising at a 35% CAGR during the same period, it reveals.
The telecoms analysis company’s latest data of Global Internet Geography was released this week, tracking internet capacity and traffic data sets. The research also examines factors impacting IP transit pricing and the role individual backbone operators play.
From a global perspective, the data shows the pace of internet bandwidth growth has been slowing. However, it’s still a near tripling of bandwidth since 2018, it notes.
TeleGeography research indicates global internet bandwidth rose by 28% in 2022, continuing the return to ‘normal’ from the pandemic-generated bump of 2020.
Total international bandwidth now stands at 997Tbps, representing a four-year CAGR of 29%. The firm further forecasts the Pbps era will soon be under way.
“After a tumultuous 2020 – with pandemic-induced volume surges and shifts in internet traffic patterns – network operators are back to adding bandwidth and engineering their traffic in a more measured manner,” says Paul Brodsky, TeleGeography senior research manager.
“Based on hard survey data gathered from dozens of regional and global network operators around the world, it’s clear the COVID-related expansion of internet traffic and bandwidth was a one-off phenomenon.”
International internet bandwidth growth largely mirrored that of internet traffic, it reveals.
Both average and peak international internet traffic increased at a compound annual rate of 30% between 2018 and 2022, slightly above the 29% CAGR in bandwidth over the same period, according to the research.
All of the stay-at-home activity associated with COVID-19 resulted in a spike in traffic in 2019-2020.
However, following the COVID-19 traffic surge in 2020, a global return to more typical usage patterns meant a decline in average and peak utilisation rates.
“The return to more normal usage patterns has resulted in a substantial drop in average and peak traffic for 2021-2022. Average traffic growth dropped from 47% between 2019-2020, to 29% between 2021-2022, while peak traffic growth dropped from 46% to 28% over the same time period.
“Global average and peak utilisation rates were essentially unchanged from last year, standing at 26% and 45% respectively, in both 2021 and 2022. In terms of pricing, providers’ shift to predominantly 100Gbps internet backbones continues to reduce the average cost of carrying traffic.
“Across seven major global hub cities, 10 GigE prices fell 16% compounded annually from Q2 2019 to Q2 2022, while 100 GigE port prices fell 25%.”
Future outlook
According to TeleGeography, the combined effects of new internet-enabled devices, growing broadband penetration in developing markets, higher broadband access rates and bandwidth-intensive applications will continue to fuel strong internet traffic growth.
While end-user traffic requirements will continue to rise, not all of this demand will translate directly into the need for new long-haul capacity, it states.
The research firm notes various factors will shape how the global internet will develop in the coming years. These include:
Post-COVID-19 growth trajectory: Initial evidence suggests the spike in the rate of bandwidth and traffic growth in 2020 from the pandemic was a one-time event and has largely returned to more traditional rates of growth. Operators indicated they no longer see the pandemic leading to upward adjustments to their demand forecasts.
IP transit price erosion: International transport unit costs underlay IP transit pricing. As new international networks are deployed, operational and construction costs are distributed over more fibre pairs and more active capacity, making each packet less expensive to carry.
The introduction of new international infrastructure also creates opportunities for more regional localisation of content and less dependence on distant hubs. As emerging markets grow in scale, they too will benefit from economies of scale, even if only through cheaper transport to internet hubs.
International versus domestic: While there’s little doubt that enhanced end-user access bandwidth and new applications will create large traffic flows, the challenge for operators will be to understand how much of this growth will require the use of international links.
In the near-term, the increased reliance on direct connections to content providers and the use of caching will continue to have a localising effect on traffic patterns and dampen international internet traffic growth.
Bypassing the public internet: The largest content providers have long operated massive networks. These companies continue to experience more rapid growth than internet backbones and they are expanding into new locations.
Many other companies, such as cloud service providers, CDNs, and even some data centre operators, are also building their own private backbones that bypass the public internet. As a result, a rising share of international traffic may be carried by these networks.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
NBC Scraps Annual Digital Access Fee on DSO
Surge in Fibre Cuts Hobbles Service Provisioning
Why Bandits, Kidnappers are Hard to Trace despite NIN-SIM Linkage – FG
First Securities Brokers Empowers Nigerians to Trade in the Stock Market with the Launch of FirstInvest App
Quest Merchant Bank Hosts Great Place to Work® Nigeria Study Mission
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
Nigeria Launches FreeTV Nationwide
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
Lebara Nigeria Launches Lebara Play, Africa’s First Telecom-Owned Micro-Drama Platform
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
Telecom3 days agoMTN Nigeria Slashes Cost of Broadband Internet Router, Unwraps New Data Bundles for Low-Budget Users
E-Financial3 days agoNigerians Accumulate $59Bn in Cryptocurrency Assets —FDC
E-Financial3 days agoFlutterwave Partners Xoom on Transfers into Nigeria
General News3 days agoNearpays, Nigerian Fintech Becomes First African Startup to Win UN’s AI for Good Innovation Factory
News3 days agoDataPro Upgrades Dangote Cement’s Credit Rating to AA+
Telecom3 days agoNokia’s 14 Years of Mobile-Phone Supremacy Ended in an Afternoon
E-Business3 days agoTinubu Orders NIMC to Enrol Every Nigerian by End of this Year – DG
General News3 days agoFintech Brands Should Communicate Right in a VUCA Economy