Nigeria is crossing a critical digital threshold as the nation’s Internet Exchange Point (IXPN) hits 1 terabit per second (Tbps) in domestic internet traffic for the first time—yet digital dreams are still struggling under the weight of expensive transmission and a lack of nationwide fibre backbone, Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, is warning.
Rudman, speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday in Lagos, says that while Nigeria now joins South Africa’s NAPAfrica as one of only two African internet exchange points to achieve this feat, challenges in infrastructure deployment and operational costs remain major stumbling blocks in the country’s digital evolution.
Rudman says that despite the achievement (crossing 1 terabit per second (Tbps) in locally exchanged traffic, Nigeria’s internet ecosystem still faces significant hurdles. Transmission capacity within the country remains expensive, and IXPN’s reach is constrained in some regions by the lack of fiber optic backbone.
“Sometimes if you are looking for capacity between Kano and Lagos, capacity, I’m talking about pipe, between Kano and Lagos, it’s much more expensive than if you are buying internet access in Kano,” Rudman tells Technology Times.
“One of the major bottlenecks of Nigeria, honestly, is that transmission capacity across Nigeria is still very expensive and inadequate,” Rudman tells Technology Times. “Sometimes if you are looking for capacity between Kano and Lagos, it’s more expensive than buying internet access in Kano itself.”
“And that’s why the government, through Galaxy backbone, decided to say, okay, we want to use fibre across the 774 local governments. That’s why the current minister is saying it wants to be looking for investment, it runs 90,000 kilometres, $2 billion dollars,” the IXPN CEO explains.
“One of the major bottlenecks of Nigeria, honestly, is that transmission capacity across Nigeria is still very expensive and inadequate,” Rudman tells Technology Times. “Sometimes if you are looking for capacity between Kano and Lagos, it’s more expensive than buying internet access in Kano itself.”
The 1Tbps milestone marks a high point in Nigeria’s digital progress. It signifies the local exchange of 125 gigabytes of data every second—enough to support over 1 million Zoom calls or 200,000 HD video streams simultaneously, according to IXPN. But this achievement is tempered by infrastructural shortcomings that risk slowing Nigeria’s momentum and digital journey.
IXPN CEO: Fibre shortfall and cost pressures stall growth
Rudman cites the Galaxy Backbone project as a key effort to bridge this gap, but notes that much work remains to be done.
Meanwhile, high costs continue to constrain Internet Service Providers (ISPs). According to Rudman, ISPs spend less than 15% of their budgets on actual internet bandwidth. The rest goes to power generation, infrastructure upkeep, and operational overheads.
“All the major data centres in Nigeria are running on generators,” he says. “The power we are generating in this country—we can’t even distribute it effectively. And that’s a big problem. Some of the problems we face are way beyond ICT alone.”
Call for policy reform and incentives
To unlock Nigeria’s full internet potential, Rudman is advocating a strategic shift. He wants the government to stop directly managing infrastructure and instead provide long-term financing and incentives to the private sector, especially smaller ISPs.
“The private sector needs to be empowered to thrive,” he says. “We need cheaper local interconnectivity across Nigeria, and targeted support like tax holidays or incentives—like South Africa has—to help smaller providers grow and reach remote areas.”
Rudman also proposes that educational institutions receive better digital connectivity. Despite IXPN’s reach across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, only one university is currently connected. A lack of funding, poor technical capacity, and administrative inefficiencies are stifling innovation in the education sector.
The barriers range from lack of funding to internal mismanagement and poor technical skills. To tackle this, Rudman proposes redirecting part of Nigeria’s video traffic toward education. He proposes a nationwide competition to identify top teachers across primary and secondary subjects, record their lessons, and host these videos on domestic servers connected to IXPN. Offering free access to high‑quality, locally hosted educational content would not only boost learning outcomes but also reinforce localised internet use and strengthen the digital ecosystem.
The barriers range from lack of funding to internal mismanagement and poor technical skills. To tackle this, Rudman proposes redirecting part of Nigeria’s video traffic toward education. He proposes a nationwide competition to identify top teachers across primary and secondary subjects, record their lessons, and host these videos on domestic servers connected to IXPN. Offering free access to high‑quality, locally hosted educational content would not only boost learning outcomes but also reinforce localised internet use and strengthen the digital ecosystem.
From traffic to transformation: Education as a digital frontier
With video traffic leading the surge—driven by platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Netflix, and Microsoft—Rudman wants a portion of this digital demand redirected toward public good.
He proposes a nationwide teacher competition to identify Nigeria’s best educators, whose lessons can be professionally recorded and hosted on IXPN’s servers. This content would be offered free, locally, to educational institutions.
“Let’s record the best teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other subjects—make these videos available on IXPN—and let our students learn for free,” he says.
How fast is 1Tbps?
When internet speed is measured in bits, bandwidth capacity becomes a measure of how fast data can move. At 1Tbps, Nigeria’s IXPN infrastructure can move 125 gigabytes of data per second.
Rudman explains it this way: “We are talking about the speed now. And this speed is the actual volume of data. So a volume of 125 gigabytes has been exchanged per second within Nigeria. It means there are a lot of things that are happening. That volume of data is being moved across Nigeria. Locally. Locally. That’s why it’s important.”
“For Nigeria,” says IXPN, “hitting this milestone means reducing reliance on international bandwidth, decreasing latency for local services, and strengthening our position as Africa’s digital heartbeat. This milestone is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of a faster, more connected Nigeria”
In practical terms, this means smoother video streaming, faster downloads, better cloud service performance, and improved digital services for end users.
“1 Terabit per second is a game-changer for Africa’s most populous country. To put it in perspective:
▪ Mega Video Calls: A speed of 1 Tbps can support over 1 million concurrent Zoom calls, allowing students, entrepreneurs, and professionals to connect and drive Nigeria’s digital revolution.
▪ Streaming Frenzy: With 1 Tbps, more than 200,000 people can stream HD Nollywood films or movies on Netflix simultaneously without any buffering or interruptions.
▪ Data Superpower: This speed enables the transfer of the entire contents of 50,000 smartphones—including photos, apps, and videos—in just one second,” IXPN says in a release.
One of the biggest wins from this achievement is the localisation of internet traffic, which reduces dependence on international bandwidth providers. That’s important for both resilience and cost.
“For Nigeria,” says IXPN, “hitting this milestone means reducing reliance on international bandwidth, decreasing latency for local services, and strengthening our position as Africa’s digital heartbeat. This milestone is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of a faster, more connected Nigeria”
By exchanging traffic locally, Rudman says, ISPs and businesses avoid the costs associated with sending data overseas. According to IXPN, Nigerian businesses can save millions of dollars annually on international bandwidth fees by using local interconnection.
Nigeria’s place in Africa’s digital map
Crossing the 1Tbps mark places Nigeria in elite company. South Africa’s NAPAfrica first reached the milestone in 2020 and has since grown to 5Tbps in 2025. IXPN’s milestone affirms Nigeria’s growing digital clout—but also reveals a continent still divided by uneven access and technological inequality.
IXPN says it is now focused on scaling operations, improving uptime, and expanding its network to reach more underserved areas.
“For Nigeria,” Rudman says, “hitting this milestone means reducing reliance on international bandwidth, decreasing latency for local services, and strengthening our position as Africa’s digital heartbeat.”
What’s driving Nigeria’s data surge?
Online videos are the primary driver of the traffic boom. A 2023 Statista report finds that 91% of Nigerians watch online videos weekly, with over half consuming comedy, meme, and music content. Around 56 percent watch comedy, meme, or viral videos, while 54 percent stream music videos.
As global content providers continue to invest in local servers—led by Google, Facebook, Amazon, and TikTok—Nigeria’s appetite for high-definition media is growing exponentially. “From CD to DVD to 4K and now 12K quality videos,” Rudman notes, “the internet is evolving, and so are we.”
According to the IXPN boss, the biggest contributor is video. “Most of these videos… they are all content that are hosted in Facebook, Microsoft, TikTok, all of them,” Rudman says. “Videos that you browse consume more data than any other thing.
“For Nigeria,” Rudman says, “hitting this milestone means reducing reliance on international bandwidth, decreasing latency for local services, and strengthening our position as Africa’s digital heartbeat.”
“Google was the first,” Rudman explains during the Q&A session. “Later, Facebook, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, TikTok, Netflix, and other content providers came in. Then other international service providers also came in. So with all this, more Nigerians are getting online. More Nigerians are consuming more data.
“You can’t compare the consumption of Internet traffic from the last 10 years and now, right? In fact, the quality of the content of the Internet improves,” Rudman says.
This surge in demand coincides with a shift from low-data formats to high-definition content. “In those years, you had CD quality. Then it moves to DVD quality. Then you have high definition, right? Now you have 4K, 8K, 12K,” he said. Higher video quality means higher bandwidth usage—helping drive traffic through IXPN.
Looking ahead
While the 1Tbps milestone is a landmark achievement, Rudman stresses that Nigeria cannot afford complacency. With the right mix of infrastructure investments, policy reforms, and private sector incentives, Nigeria can leap from being Africa’s data consumer to a true digital leader.
“This isn’t just about speed—it’s about sovereignty, opportunity, and unlocking the full potential of Nigeria’s digital economy,” Rudman says.
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