Airtel's 5G network launch in Nigeria likely to increase operator's service revenue

Airtel has officially unveiled its fifth-generation technology, commonly dubbed 5G in Africa's most populated country, Nigeria. With over 60.3 million subscribers, Airtel is the third-largest mobile network operator in the country, after MTN and Glo.

The mobile network operator follows its major counterpart MTN, which unveiled the 5G network last August in seven states. On its part, Airtel initiated the network in three states: Lagos, Rivers, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In 2022, the mobile network recorded $1.06 billion and $847 million as voice and data revenues respectively, according to its financial report, compared to 2021 where it earned $957 million and $691 million respectively. With the new 5G network, it is expected that the operator's service revenue would increase given the potential of the service.

According to a recent report by Juniper Research​, 5G service revenue globally has been predicted to rise to $315 billion in 2023, from $195 billion in 2022.

The 5G network is said to be a higher multi-Gbps peak data speed that tends to deliver more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and improved efficiency, empowering new user experiences and connecting new industries, according to Qualcomm.

Unlike the previous generations of mobile networks, 5G is a unified, more capable air interface. It has been designed with an extended capacity to enable next-generation user experiences, empower new deployment models and deliver new services.