Nigerians battling poor network quality on MTN and Airtel may soon get relief following a new infrastructure-sharing agreement between the two telecom giants.
MTN Group and Airtel Africa announced Wednesday that they were entering into an infrastructure-sharing arrangement in Nigeria and Uganda, which will allow them leverage on each other’s infrastructure in those countries in a bid to expand coverage and drive cost efficiency.
For a remote worker like Temitope Adebisi, the deal couldn’t come sooner.
“I had a virtual meeting earlier this week, and I kept getting logged out during my presentation. It was frustrating—I had to keep calling my team just to reconnect,” Adebisi said.
As a product manager who relies on MTN and Airtel for internet access, Adebisi’s struggle reflects a growing challenge for millions of Nigerian subscribers grappling with deteriorating service quality.
Over the past year, users have reported frequent call drops, sluggish internet speeds, and inconsistent network coverage.
The new partnership between MTN and Airtel aims to address these issues by allowing both companies to share infrastructure, optimise network resources, and expand coverage.
Industry analysts say this move could significantly reduce downtime, improve data speeds, and enhance service reliability.
MTN and Airtel have a subscriber base of 145.22 million, 85.90 percent of Nigeria’s total 169.04 million subscriber base.
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In 2024, MTN reduced core network investments by 1.30 percent year-on-year to N443.48 billion, and Airtel’s investment fell 7.8 percent y-o-y to $456 million between April and December 2024.
Experts attributed the decline to forex-induced losses and a harsh operating environment that led operators to scale back investments in network infrastructure.
Instead of expanding infrastructure, telcos prioritised reducing their forex burden, paying off $1.2 billion in foreign loans.
This financial strain contributed to MTN Nigeria posting a post-tax loss of N400.44 billion, while Airtel Africa’s revenue fell by 5.78 percent to $3.64 billion from $3.86 billion over the nine months ending December 2024.
The lack of investment has been exacerbated by a surge in data consumption, which rose to 1,000,930.6 terabytes (TB) in January 2025 from 517,670.15 TB in January 2023.
To address rising demand, operators have committed to ramping up investments in 2025, aided by a recently approved 50 percent tariff hike. However, the MTN-Airtel deal is expected to deliver immediate improvements in network coverage while also reducing operational costs.
“We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets,” Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and chief executive officer.
To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers. That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns,” Mupita said.
Sunil Taldar, Airtel Africa CEO, echoed this sentiment, noting that the agreement would enable both operators to build a more robust digital network, enhance financial inclusion, and avoid costly infrastructure duplication.
GSMA, the global body for telecom operators, agrees and notes that apart from reducing operating costs, agreements like this allow telcos to provide additional capacity in congested areas. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also highlights how infrastructure sharing lowers network deployment costs, particularly in rural or underserved areas.
Currently, 23 million Nigerians live in unserved and underserved telecom regions, according to Yomi Arowosafe, Secretary of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). Expanding coverage to these areas is crucial for nationwide connectivity.
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“Infrastructure sharing may expand coverage into previously un-served geographic areas,” GSMA noted.
This deal aligns with global trends, with telecom giants like Orange and Vodafone recently announcing similar agreements in the UK and Spain. According to WIK Research, a science-oriented consulting firm, full network sharing can save operators between 19 percent and 33 percent in operating costs.
Both operators will continue to function as independent market entities and compete freely in shared markets. They also said that they are exploring network-sharing opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
The engagement also doesn’t preclude parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market, with both operators stating that they are dedicated to working with other mobile operators in the countries they operate in.
They noted that types of agreements considered included RAN sharing and those aimed at establishing commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
Despite the benefits, GSMA highlighted that regulators often impose safeguards to prevent anti-competitive behaviour. However, MTN and Airtel maintain that their deal complies with all local regulatory and statutory requirements.
