Nigeria is entering a new era of digital maturity. The country’s domestic internet traffic hit a record high of 1 terabit per second (Tbps) in March 2024, driven largely by a surge in video consumption on social networks like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. This milestone now places Nigeria as Africa’s second-largest internet hub, just behind South Africa, which routes over 4 Tbps per second. 

At the heart of this transformation is the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) — the country’s major digital backbone. IXPN functions as a neutral platform where Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content providers like Google, Netflix, TikTok, and other network operators exchange data locally, rather than routing it through international connections, which tends to be slow and expensive.

This shift isn’t just abstract. According to DataReportal, as of early 2025, Nigeria boasts around 38.7 million active Facebook users, 37.4 million TikTok users, and 27 million YouTube users. In October 2024 alone, YouTube reported a 55% year-on-year increase in watch time among Nigerian users aged 18 and above, reaching over 30 million people. Much of this data is now being routed locally through IXPN instead of relying on costly international bandwidth like satellite systems or undersea cables such as SAT-3.

Before IXPN became operational in 2007, most internet traffic had to leave the country first before coming back, making browsing all but smooth for users. But with traffic now exchanged locally, Nigeria is edging toward a more self-reliant and efficient internet ecosystem, improving digital access for millions.

“1 terabit per second means that 1 million people can concurrently make phone calls and Zoom meetings,” said IXPN CEO Muhammed Rudman on April 22.

“It also means 200,000 people can watch local videos or Netflix at the same time. Without an internet exchange point, this traffic would have been going out of Nigeria.”

The real turning point came in 2011, when Google started peering directly with IXPN, resulting in a traffic spike from under 20 Mbps to over 120 Mbps within a year. Since then, growth has been fueled by expanding data centres and direct interconnection agreements with global tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Starlink, and others who now peer with IXPN.

However, while this infrastructural growth has enhanced speed and efficiency, it hasn’t yet translated to lower consumer costs. 

In line with a January 20 approval from the NCC allowing up to a 50% tariff increase, telecom operators have raised both airtime and data prices nationwide. This ends nearly a decade of relative pricing stability, which calls into question whether progress in infrastructure means anything when the average user is priced out.