Nigeria has hit a major milestone in its digital journey, recording an unprecedented internet traffic peak of one terabit per second (1Tbps) in April 2025—cementing its position as the top performer in West Africa and second only to South Africa on the continent.
The development was confirmed by the Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), which oversees domestic internet traffic and connectivity innovation in the country. The achievement marks a significant leap from December 2024, when Nigeria recorded a then-impressive 900 gigabits per second (Gbps).
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, Muhammed Rudman, described the milestone as a “game changer” for Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
He credited the rapid growth to increased streaming activity, expanded social media engagement, a surge in virtual communication, and the rise of local data centres.
“This level of internet capacity can power over one million simultaneous Zoom calls,” Rudman explained. “It also means that over 200,000 users can stream HD Nollywood content or Netflix movies at the same time without experiencing any lags. That’s the level of real-time access we’re talking about.”
He further added that at 1Tbps, the country could transfer the data equivalent of 50,000 smartphones in just one second—an indication of the immense bandwidth now available to users.
The boost in local traffic not only reduces Nigeria’s dependence on international bandwidth but also cuts down latency for users while improving content delivery for local platforms. Rudman emphasized that this is a clear sign that Nigeria is fast becoming the digital hub of Africa.
Tracing the growth, he noted that Nigeria’s internet traffic was barely seven to eight megabits per second (Mbps) in 2008. By the time Google began peering with IXPN, traffic surged to 120Mbps. It reached 600Mbps in 2012, hit 125Gbps in 2019, and doubled to 250Gbps in 2021. By late 2024, it had climbed to 900Gbps—paving the way for the current 1Tbps record.
“Today, roughly 75 percent of our network members say they exchange over 25 percent of their traffic locally, and about four percent report exchanging over 75 percent locally,” Rudman revealed. “Our long-term goal is to fully domesticate internet traffic to reduce cost and strengthen access.”
However, Rudman also raised concerns about the challenges facing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the high cost of interconnectivity. He urged policymakers and stakeholders to lower transmission costs and provide more support to ISPs, many of whom are struggling to stay afloat.
“To sustain this growth and keep the momentum, we need to make transmission more affordable and enable the private sector to thrive,” he said.
IXPN, established to ensure that Nigerian internet traffic remains within the country, continues to play a central role in improving connectivity, encouraging local content development, and reducing the costs of accessing domestic digital services.
As Nigeria steps into this new phase of digital capacity, Rudman said the country is poised to not only lead the region in data connectivity but also drive broader innovation in internet services, education, business, and entertainment.
