The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) recently allocated 25 Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licenses, which is expected to improve telecoms services in rural and underserved regions of the country. Nigeria’s mobile market is currently dominated by four national operators, MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9Mobile, with MTN holding a 40% market share. Before this move, none of these carriers were obligated to make provisions for MVNOs to use their networks.
With only around half of Nigeria’s population having access to mobile broadband and a mere 4% to 4G, the country risks lagging behind its regional counterparts. This prompted the NCC to introduce MVNOs in 2021 to increase competition and broaden the services offered to customers nationwide.
The NCC is now offering ten-year licenses in five different tiers, with varying costs and levels of control over the use of mobile network operators’ infrastructure and service marketing. Licensing fees range from 35 million naira ($76,000) for a Tier 1 license to 500 million naira ($1.08 million) for a Tier 5 license. Interestingly, no companies opted for a Tier 1 license.
In total, seven firms obtained Tier 2 licenses, seven received Tier 3 licenses, four secured Tier 4 licenses, and eight were awarded the highest Tier 5 licenses. The full list of recipients can be found here. The entire licensing process raised approximately 5.9 billion naira ($13 million) for the regulator.
This development is expected to reshape the African telecoms ecosystem in 2023 as the sector gathers for the Total Telecom Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Other discussions during the event will feature final bids for TIM’s fiber network, the interdependence of data centers and submarine cables, and the impact of Mexico’s high 5G spectrum price on the latest auction, which might leave Telcel as the only bidder.
The entrance of new MVNOs in Nigeria’s mobile market is a significant step toward improving connectivity and access to telecom services for the country’s citizens. The increased competition and wider service offerings are expected to benefit both the industry and consumers, fostering innovation and growth in the expanding African telecom sector.
