Airtel Africa has spent almost twice as much on its mobile networks in East Africa. The company spent $247 million in the six months to September 2026, up from $124 million last year.
The money covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia. Airtel is spending more so it can meet the growing demand for data.
Results released on 30 October show that mobile services income rose 20.2% to $1.26 billion. Data income rose 30.3% to $566 million, and the number of mobile customers grew 8% to 88.8 million.
More people are now using smartphones and the internet. Data customers rose 15.2% to 39.5 million, and average monthly data use per smartphone rose from 9GB to 12.2GB.
Mobile money also grew well. Its income rose 31.9% to $615 million, and its customers reached 44.1 million.
Even with the higher spending, free cash flow rose by only 2% to $388 million. At the same time, Airtel’s core profit from mobile services rose 25.8% to $635 million.