MTN Nigeria and 9mobile have started testing a historic radio access network-sharing arrangement. If system stability is confirmed, a full nationwide rollout is anticipated by the end of July.
Thanks to the agreement approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission, the operator with three million subscribers can take advantage of MTN’s vast radio access infrastructure while keeping its own core network, billing systems, and customer identity.
Obafemi Banigbe, 9mobile’s CEO, called the deal a major turning point in the company’s recovery plan at a joint press conference held in Lagos on Thursday.
“Today, we are proud to confirm that we have entered into a three-year national infrastructure-sharing agreement with MTN,” Banigbe said.
“This partnership allows us to deliver better coverage by leveraging MTN’s radio access infrastructure in areas where we do not currently have a presence. It is not a merger or coalition, it is a commercial partnership grounded in industry efficiency.”
9mobile’s steep declines
The move comes at a critical time for the struggling operator, which has witnessed a steep decline in its fortunes over the past decade.
Once a major player in Nigeria’s telecom industry with over 23 million subscribers in 2015, the company’s user base has shrunk to just about three million this year, representing a market share of roughly 1.9 per cent, the smallest among Nigeria’s mobile network operators.
Poor customer service, frequent service interruptions, and poor network quality have all contributed to the decline.
Thousands of subscribers have switched to competitors because of complaints about slow internet speeds, no signal in some areas of the country, and unresolved service issues.
NCC data indicates that 9mobile experienced over 6,000 port-out losses in two months towards the end of 2024, with negligible gains from port-in traffic.
9mobile to focus on service quality and innovation
The telecom executive claimed that 9mobile will be able to concentrate its limited resources on service quality and innovation rather than infrastructure duplication thanks to the partnership with the nation’s largest operator, which has 90 million subscribers.
“There is no freeloading here. This is not a subsidy or favour. Our subscribers remain 9mobile subscribers; they are billed by 9mobile, and their experience remains seamless,” Banigbe added.
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, stated that the deal exemplifies a new paradigm for industry cooperation.
“We are excited to be part of a transition from pure competition to co-opetition, collaborating in areas where we can drive efficiency, while still competing on innovation and service quality,” she said.
MTN Nigeria commends NCC and the Communications Minister
Saint-Nwafor praised the NCC and Dr. Aminu Maida, its executive vice chairman, for creating a regulatory environment that promotes infrastructure optimisation.
Additionally, she recognised the work Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, did to make shared infrastructure a national priority.
According to Saint-Nwafor, the agreement is an example of international best practices, especially in markets with constrained capital and spectrum.
“We’ve now moved beyond tower sharing to radio access sharing. This is how we build a modern, capital-efficient, and customer-focused telecom industry,” she said.
MTN-9mobile partnership to enhance mobile coverage
The MTN-9mobile partnership is anticipated to enhance mobile coverage, particularly in underserved areas, while lowering costs and speeding up broadband penetration, a major objective of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan.
Pilot tests are already underway in a few locations, with a full rollout scheduled for July.
“This collaboration unlocks new possibilities not just for us, but for the industry,” Banigbe said. “It redefines what competition means and proves that innovation and collaboration can go hand-in-hand.”