Airtel Africa has announced the launch of Nxtra by Airtel, its data center business, to accelerate Africa's digital transition and address the increasing demand for secure and sustainable data center capacity on the continent. According to African media reports, Nxtra aims to build one of the largest networks of data centers in Africa, with high-capacity facilities in major cities located across Airtel Africa's footprint, complementing existing edge sites.
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Accelerating Africa's Digital Transition
Nxtra by Airtel is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, offering a network of secure, scalable, and sustainable data centers to leading enterprises, hyperscalers, startups, SMEs, and governments.
Coupled with Airtel Africa's fiber footprint, these high-capacity facilities will cater to the growing needs of African businesses. According to the reports, Nxtra's infrastructure is designed to host the next generation of computing, providing multi-MW capacity in a phased manner.
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These facilities are reportedly said to meet stringent global security requirements and achieve "five nines" availability. The localised data center capacity will enhance the speed of access to digital services, reduce data management costs, and stimulate innovation.
Furthermore, Nxtra is enabling customers to meet data sovereignty requirements while simultaneously facilitating the offering of more local cloud services in the countries where Airtel Africa operates.
Also Read: Bharti Airtel to Source 23,000 MWh of Green Energy for Six Nxtra Data Centers
First Facility
The first Nxtra facility in Lagos, Nigeria, expected to be live in mid-2025, will deliver 34 MW of total power and is designed to host high-density racks, integrating the latest best practices in construction to achieve a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.3.
