Airtel Overtakes MTN Nigeria in Internet Speed in Q2 2022

Airtel Nigeria has reportedly surpassed MTN Nigeria in Internet speed in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.

Data from speedtest intelligence after analyzing the internet speed of four mobile service providers across 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, revealed that Airtel Nigeria delivered faster median download and upload speeds in Nigeria in the second quarter.

After the Internet speed test analysis was carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa came top as the country with the best internet speed as a result of the deployment of the 5G technology by different operators in the country.

In the country, Johannesburg led the pack of cities with the fastest internet speed, having a median download speed of 66.54 Mbps, followed by Cape Town at 49.22 Mbps download speed.

The four telecommunications operators singled out for the tests were —MTN, Airtel, Vodacom, and Orange which commanded a combined majority of 62% of total subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa. While the selected 10 countries accounted for 59% of the region’s connections.

In a head-to-head performance between Airtel and MTN across the three countries they operate in, Airtel surpassed MTN in Nigeria, both in terms of median download and upload speed in Q2 2022, while in Uganda and Rwanda there were no winners.

In terms of users, in Q2 2022, MTN Nigeria commanded 38.9% of Nigeria’s mobile users with its 74.1 million subscribers almost double that of Airtel’s 46.0 million.

Yet, when it comes to mobile performance, Airtel Nigeria was ahead of MTN. Airtel Nigeria in 2021, was rated the fastest network in the telecom broadband category.

In the second quarter of this year, the telecommunications company recorded a median download speed of 30.35 Mbps and a median upload speed of 10.28 Mbps, both of which topped those of MTN (26.30 Mbps download and 9.13 Mbps upload).

Those speeds are set to increase as both companies have invested heavily into network infrastructure, with a combined investment of N208.5 billion ($502 million).

The investment translates into an increase in 4G Availability as well. In Q2 2022, MTN had 83.8% 4G Availability compared to Airtel’s 77.9%.

It should be recalled that Investors King had recently reported that MTN launched its 5G technology in Nigeria, as it promises to change communication forever.