Telecom
9mobile Mulls Network-Sharing Arrangement with MTN
Alan Sinfield, CEO, 9Mobile, has said that a pilot free roaming scheme that allows customers of each company to switch to the network of the other where its own has no coverage has run smoothly in Ondo State.
Leading telecom service providers MTN and 9Mobile plan to request regulatory permission for an agreement to let customers share their networks, an official has said.
Sinfield, who made this known in an interview with The Africa Report said that said a first-of-its-kind pilot free roaming scheme that allows customers of each company to switch to the network of the other where its own has no coverage has run smoothly in Ondo State.
Both companies are seeking permission from Nigerian regulatory agencies for a full roaming agreement, Africa Report said.
The telecoms sector in Nigeria is regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The facility, provided at no extra charge, would key into a roaming provision that is gaining ground in Africa and other parts of the world.
Since January, travellers in the Economic Community of West African States have been able to roam without paying charges, an end-result of a 2020 agreement to end roaming charges.
Roaming agreements can help increase capital expenditure efficiency, as it allows saved cash to be used to provide more infrastructure.
Last November, the NCC said active users of telecommunications services in the country stood at 199 million as of July 2020.
Within the period under review, MTN had the highest voice subscriptions with 80.3 million subscribers, representing 40 per cent. Airtel came a distant second with 53.7 million and Globacom is third with 52.7 million. 9mobile has 12.6 million subscribers.
By implication, it would be rather problematic for individual network providers to build infrastructure and provide services all alone.
This development makes collaboration quite imperative, says Mr Sinfield, who added that the industry “should be doing more to collaborate” to increase access because “collaboration is the way forward for a market of this size.”
The need for collaboration extends to fibre-optic cables, the 9Mobile CEO says, adding that network providers “should not be digging up the same hole” one after another.
Mr Sinfield called for more active network-sharing in the industry.
Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief Enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, has assured the network subscribers that the new end-user billing system for the use of USSD services will jot affect them.
USSD, otherwise Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes are commonly used for banking transactions, airtime recharges, and other mobile services.
The telco said that there is no significant impact or change other than the fact that they will now pay the same N6.98 per session (120 seconds) with their airtime instead of direct bank debit.
Saint-Nwafor, said this during a chat with MTN MIP fellows, explaining that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered telecom operators to ensure that the new billing model resolves trust issues and ensures transparency in the billing process.
“Our regulator insisted that at the end of every month, we are going to be providing history and statistics on the performance of the service across the board”, she explained.
Saint-Nwafor added that the new billing model has standardized messaging across all operators and ensures consistent communication with customers.
“We will take all the error codes and map them into messages that are standardised across the board. So, if you initiate a transaction, you will know if it is failing. And, when the transaction fails, you will know if it is from your bank or the telco,” she explained.
The U.S. government has recovered $225 million in what is now the largest seizure of funds linked to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
In a statement released Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the recovery followed an extensive investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, using blockchain analysis and other forensic tools. The statement did not confirm whether any arrests had been made.
According to the authorities, the stolen funds originated from fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes that tricked victims into believing they were making legitimate investments. More than 400 individuals around the world, including dozens in the United States, were reportedly affected.
The operation involved a sophisticated money laundering network that carried out hundreds of thousands of blockchain transactions to obscure the source and ownership of the stolen assets.
“These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims,” said Shawn Bradstreet, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Secret Service office in San Francisco.
Bradstreet added that U.S. officials hope the recovered funds can eventually be returned to the rightful victims.
Cryptocurrency investment fraud accounted for over $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone, according to the statement.
In a rousing declaration that is electrifying minds across the continent, Hon. Nnaemeka Ani, Special Adviser on ICT to Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called for a homegrown digital revolution under the banner “Africa Will Rise: By Code, By Courage, By Us.”
Hon. Nnaemeka Ani
The message, part challenge, part philosophical—seeks to galvanize African innovators to move beyond buzzwords and build technology with impact and legacy in mind.
“Let’s stop building for hype. Let’s start building for legacy,” Ani urged while speaking to ICT journalists over the weekend. “Let’s stop waiting for someone else. Let’s start creating the future—on our own terms.”
At the heart of Ani’s vision is a shift from tech consumerism to tech authorship. With innovation hubs sprouting across cities like Enugu, Lagos, Kigali, Jo’Burg, and Nairobi, and a growing community of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs determined to solve Africa’s unique challenges, the movement is already taking shape.
Ani emphasized that Africa’s future lies not in flashy apps or international admiration but in persistent, intentional solutions that uplift communities—solutions that digitize public services, bridge rural-urban divides, empower women and youth, and build resilience in food and climate systems.
“We have the talent,” he said. “Now it’s time to harness it—to stop building for likes and start building for lasting impact.”
With support from leaders like Ani and rising momentum in Africa’s tech corridors, it seems that a new chapter is being written—one line of code at a time.
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