In a move to reshape Nigeria’s telecom, MTN Nigeria and 9Mobile have entered into a three-year national roaming agreement to improve network coverage for millions of users across the country.
Under the agreement, announced on Monday, 9Mobile subscribers will now be able to seamlessly connect to MTN’s extensive network in areas where 9Mobile’s signal is weak or unavailable. The deal has already received the green light from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The partnership marks one of the most significant strides in infrastructure sharing in Nigeria’s telecom sector—a practice long advocated by industry stakeholders but rarely seen at this scale.
MTN’s CEO, Karl Toriola, called the agreement a “significant step” toward greater collaboration among industry players. “Delivering the scale required for telecommunications services in Nigeria requires strong collaboration between the private sector, public sector, and long-term investors,” he said. “This agreement demonstrates what we can achieve when we collaborate.”
The move comes at a critical time for 9Mobile, which has struggled with network quality and a shrinking subscriber base. According to NCC data, the operator’s active users had dropped to 3.2 million as of January 2025—down from a peak of over 22 million in 2016. Many customers have migrated to competitors in search of more reliable service.
With this deal, 9Mobile hopes to stem that tide and win back user confidence by leveraging MTN’s robust nationwide infrastructure.
For its part, MTN says the agreement is part of a broader strategy to drive digital inclusion and sustainable growth. “We believe partnerships like this are essential to bridging the connectivity gap, especially in rural and underserved areas,” the company said in a statement.
The NCC has consistently encouraged such collaborations to reduce network deployment costs and fast-track service delivery across Nigeria. The success of this deal may set a new precedent in how telecom operators can work together to improve access and efficiency in the industry.
