Telecom
Medallion, Galaxy Backbone Make Case for Infrastructure Sharing in ICT Sector
The issue of infrastructure sharing in Nigerian telecommunications industry is extremely important since the resources used to provide the services are limited.
Whether in passive or active model, infrastructure sharing is a key element in promoting healthy competition among market players, with a reasonable investment value and a fair price to be charged to the consumer.
These were the thoughts of panellists at the Mobile and Disruptive Technology Forum (#MoDiTECH2019) organised by TechEconomy.ng in Lagos, recently.
Moderated by Mr. Toba Obaniyi, the Vice President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the panelists discussed issues around “Infrastructure as a Limitation to Unleashing Digital Services in Nigeria”.
Dr. Kris Ranganath, Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Medallion Communications, speaking during the panel session, reiterated that leveraging the capacity of colocation companies such as Medallion Communications Limited could be the way out for players to reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX).
Dr. Ranganath said that despite a record of over $70 billion local and foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the country’s telecoms sector, lack of a robust infrastructure remains one of the challenges that have bedevilled the industry.
He said that as the major employer of labour and an enabler of economic development, the industry deserves protection by the government to continue to add value to the GDP.
He said that Medallion Communications Limited, one of West African one-stop interconnect and hosting companies readily comes into the picture as an enabler of colocation model for the country
The CTO said that the Company has preached and has painstakingly been building infrastructure backbone supporting Nigeria’s ICT and telecommunications industry in the area of carrier neutral infrastructure sharing and connectivity over the years and will continue to add value to the ecosystem.
He said, although they have not totally addressed the challenges, but their efforts have given rise to Nigerians appreciating the value of shared infrastructure and data center service delivery.
“The Medallion collocation center, located in Lagos, is today, one of the most connected facilities in Nigeria. Over 80 service providers, including all global system for mobile communications (GSM) operators, code division multiple access (CDMA) operators, fixed wireless and fixed line operators in Nigeria are connected to the Medallion’s collocation center.
“The resilience telecom infrastructure Medallion has built over the years is currently accommodating the hosting of contents from both local and international service providers in Nigeria. Therefore, we are localising a huge percentage of content and data, which were hitherto hosted abroad,” the Medallion Communications CTO added.
He said that while the Company drives colocation, among other services, the client lists also include all long distance, international fiber network operators and metro fiber transmission providers in Nigeria.
More so, Chidi Okpala, Marketing Manager, Galaxy Backbone Limited, said that infrastructure sharing is a way of reducing the costs of investing in networks, increasing the value of the business, optimizing the allocation and use of infrastructures when duplication is impossible, and guaranteeing the compliance with regulatory obligations.
He added that the resultant impact is in an improvement of the conditions of the service provided to the users, especially in offering quality service.
Okpala said that more importantly, infrastructure sharing is always advisable to foster competition in the sector, thus favouring the final consumer, either with an improvement in the quality of the service, or with a possible reduction in the prices charged by the sector.
According to him, Galaxy Backbone has continued to provide connectivity services to Government MDAs across the length and breadth of Nigeria on its 1GOV.ng platform.
“This has given federal government the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of economies of scale and encourage local partnerships”.
Galaxy Backbone (GBB) is the Digital and Shared Services Infrastructure provider of the federal government.
For close to two decades, GBB has continued to strive towards living its mission being, to drive national development through the provision of pervasive ICT Infrastructure and services to public institutions, underserved communities and other stakeholders.
This mission propels the day to day running of the organisation and how it interacts with institutions, local communities and other stakeholders.
Similarly, the persistent infrastructure deficit in the Nigerian telecoms sector are due to obvious multifaceted factors like multiple taxation, vandalism, inconsistent policies, among other factors.
In his contribution, the president, Association of Licensed Mobile Payment Operators (ALMPO), Mr. Chinedu Onuoha, said that in addition to improved infrastructure deployment, introducing innovative solutions that have the potential to reduce costs in digital payments is crucial too.
He said that FinTechs must continue to strive to develop and unleash real-time settlement solutions for financial institutions and capable of impacting of rural dwellers.
He said that standardization through policies cannot be overemphazised as the costs, risks and delays inherent in today’s infrastructure often limit electronic payment products, particularly to large-value transactions.
He referred to the recent issues generated by the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges by banks and telecos could have been addressed through stakeholders’ engagements.
He reminded the participants that infrastructure deficit is chief among the reasons financial institutions find it difficult to even offer low-value payment products.
For instance, banks and licensed mobile money operators lack capacity to manager issues arising from network downtime among other issues.
Mr. Onuoha said that for these reasons and more, ALMPO was formed “to create a voice for the industry in order to create, influence and shape policies, Government legislations and to build standards within the frameworks that will provide stability and growth to the mobile money environment and also to contribute to the economy of the Mobile payment initiative in Nigeria”.
MTN Nigeria has raised the bar for corporate disclosure in Africa after publishing its 2025 sustainability report in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards S1 and S2.
Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria,
The report, independently assured by Ernst & Young, marks the telecom operator’s seventh consecutive annual sustainability publication and third year as an early adopter of the global framework ahead of its mandatory implementation.
Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, said, “strong governance and ethical conduct are foundational to our sustainability strategy. We reinforced compliance through our Conduct Passport Framework and robust internal controls.”
He added that “in May 2025, we became the first telecommunications company in Nigeria to publicly present a sustainability report on the Nigerian Exchange Group platform, an important milestone in our commitment to IFRS S1 and S2- aligned disclosure and accountability.”
The company also secured Carbon Disclosure Project ratings of ‘B-’ for climate change and ‘C’ for water security.
Under the IFRS S2 framework, the telecoms operator disclosed climate-related risks linked to flooding, heat stress, regulatory changes and possible future taxes or charges on carbon emissions, following a climate scenario analysis completed in 2024.
The report also showed that MTN Nigeria now uses a digital reporting format – XBRL. This makes its sustainability and governance data easier for investors and ESG rating agencies to access and analyse through automated systems.
The Company also carried out assessments to understand how sustainability issues affect both its business operations and society at large, while measuring its overall economic, environmental and social impact from 2021 to 2024.
In addition, over one-third of MTN Nigeria’s biggest suppliers (based on spending) have committed to supporting the company’s net-zero emissions goals, although these commitments have not yet gone through an independent audit or verification process.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have announced a new compliance requirement mandating telecommunications companies to obtain regulatory approval before effecting significant changes in their ownership structure.
The directive, jointly issued by the two agencies, requires any proposed transfer of ownership or control of shares amounting to 10 per cent or more of the total share capital of a company licensed by the NCC to secure a Letter of No Objection from the commission before such transactions can be registered with the CAC.
The agencies said the requirement was in line with the provisions of Section 90 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, Regulation 28(2) of the Competition Practices Regulations, 2007, and Regulation 42 of the Licensing Regulations, 2019.
According to the statement, the regulations empower the NCC to oversee and review transactions involving licensed communications companies and ensure fair competition within the sector.
“Effective immediately, any proposed transfer of ownership or control of shares in a licensee of the Nigerian Communications Commission amounting to 10 per cent or more of the total share capital, as well as any series of share transfers which in aggregate exceed 10 per cent of the total share capital of the licensee, shall require a Letter of No Objection from NCC in order for the changes to be effected and registered with the CAC,” the statement said.
The agencies explained that the CAC would henceforth ensure that all applications for changes in shareholding structures involving 10 per cent or more of a telecommunications company’s share capital are accompanied by evidence of prior approval from the NCC.
They noted that the measure was aimed at preserving a fair and competitive market structure within the communications sector by preventing direct or indirect anti-competitive practices.
According to the statement, the new requirement will also strengthen regulatory oversight of significant changes in ownership and control of licensed telecommunications operators.
The agencies said the initiative would enhance transparency, boost investor confidence, provide regulatory certainty and safeguard the long-term sustainability and stability of the communications industry.
The NCC and CAC reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a transparent, stable and competitive business environment in Nigeria.
They pledged to continue working closely to ensure fair market practices, strengthen regulatory certainty and support the orderly and sustainable development of the nation’s communications sector.
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to promote locally manufactured renewable energy technologies under the Federal Government’s ‘Nigeria First Policy’.
L-R: EVC/CEO, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu; Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Abraham Adedokun; and Dr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), at the signing of the MoU on implementation of Nigeria First Policy for offtake of NSSENI’s renewable energy products for rural electrification projects held on Friday, June 19, 2026 at BPP’s office in Abuja.
The agreement signing was facilitated by the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Abraham Adedokun at the BPP headquarters in Abuja on Friday, June 19, 2026.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the Agency is focused on linking research, production, and commercialization to ensure that innovations are translated into market-ready products.
He said “NASENI would scale up renewable energy production, including solar panels and streetlights, through initiatives such as DefFrontier, to strengthen local manufacturing and reduce import dependence, adding that the Agency will meet the renewable energy requirements of REA.”
Instead of continuous importation of technologies, machines and equipment for producing renewable energy solutions, NASENI by this MoU will be committed to local manufacturing and domestication of the technologies, equipment and other ways and means of proliferation of renewable resource in the country and to increase the nation’s off-grid energy solutions.
The Managing Director/CEO of REA, Dr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, described the relationship with NASENI as a strategic partnership aimed at building Nigeria’s renewable energy ecosystem through local production and deployment.
He stated that “while NASENI provides the manufacturing and technological capacity for renewable equipment, REA will focus on deploying solutions to expand electricity across rural areas.”
Meanwhile, the Director-General of BPP, Dr. Adebowale Abraham Adedokun, said the Nigeria First Policy, exemplified by this agreement, is aimed at strengthening local content, ensuring value for money, and promoting accountability in public procurement.
He emphasized that implementation of the agreement will be performance-based, with strict monitoring to ensure compliance and measurable outcome. He added that the MoU is expected to deepen collaboration between NASENI and REA in expanding renewable energy and reducing dependence on imported technologies.
The MoU will be implemented through NASENI’s subsidiary company, NASENI Devfrontier Green Energy FZE and REA limited liability company, RAMco.The two Federal Government agencies seek to establish a strategic collaboration under which REA shall offtake PV modules, inverters, energy storage batteries of NASENI-Devfrontier Green Energy FZE directly or through its approved distribution companies/assembly and manufacturing factory.
As part of the agreement, REA shall provide institutional visibility to enable NASENI participate in electrification projects; facilitate opportunities for engagements between NASENI and eligible developers/contractors under REA programs; ensure that such facilitation is consistent with applicable procurement, local content, and transparency requirements; and also collaborate with NASENI in promoting standardized, high-quality PV technologies across its programme portfolio.
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