MTN, 9mobile network-roaming deal kicks in next week

MTN Nigeria and Emerging Market Communications Company (9mobile) have disclosed that their national roaming partnership will kick in from next week.

Earlier this week, MTN announced that the telecom regulator has signed off on a three-year nationwide roaming deal with 9mobile. Under the agreement, 9mobile subscribers will now be able to roam on MTN’s extensive network, potentially solving long-standing coverage and service issues that have plagued it.

This deal promises a better network for 9mobile’s 2.97 million subscribers. National roaming allows mobile subscribers to automatically make calls, use data, and access other services outside their operator’s coverage area by connecting through another network.

In a joint press conference on Thursday, the two operators announced that the deal will kick in from next week. Speaking at the press conference, Femi Bamigbe, chief executive officer of 9mobile, explained that 9mobile would be able to deploy its network in areas where its coverage does not reach, leveraging on MTN’s infrastructure in those areas.

The 9mobile CEO said MTN would also leverage 9mobile’s infrastructure to serve its customers where its infrastructure doesn’t cover.

“It is a commercial partnership. It is a win-win for both parties. It is not a freeloader, both of us are paying for services we render for each other”, he said. He noted that the agreement would run for three years, during which it is expected that 9mobile would have grown its customer base by then.

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He also said the operators were in it for the long run. MTN and 9Mobile’s deal has been in the works since the NCC allowed both mobile network operators (MNOs) to trial national roaming services for three months between August 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020.

According to Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN, who was represented by Linda Saint-Nwafor, MTN’s chief enterprise officer, the partnership was the first in the country and probably the rest of West, East and Central Africa.

The MTN boss clarified that the partnership was not a porting arrangement as both parties would still retain their customers on their networks.

“Delivering the scale required for telecommunications services in Nigeria requires strong collaboration between the private sector, public sector, and long-term investors. This agreement demonstrates what we can achieve when we collaborate, and we are delighted to announce it today after months of groundwork,” he said.

9mobile has faced tough times since its technical partner and investors left and was recently acquired by LH Telecoms Nigeria, a subsidiary of Light House Capital. However, this deal has yet to stem subscriber loss, which has fallen from 4.65 million to 2.97 million since the takeover.

With this new agreement in place, 9mobile can now tap into MTN’s national infrastructure to offer better coverage, voice, and data services. In return, MTN, with 90.51 million subscribers, gains access to 9mobile’s valuable spectrum holdings, including the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz bands.