9mobile, MTN confirm roaming partnership, set for nationwide rollout in July

Telecommunications company 9mobile has officially confirmed its national roaming partnership with MTN Nigeria, announcing that the service will go live across the country this July.

The move is expected to significantly improve coverage and service quality for 9mobile subscribers, while reinforcing collaboration in Nigeria’s increasingly competitive telecoms sector.

The confirmation follows MTN’s July 2 announcement of a three-year nationwide roaming agreement with Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited (EMTS), the parent company of 9mobile.

Under the agreement, 9mobile subscribers will be able to roam seamlessly on MTN’s extensive network infrastructure across Nigeria, a development that both parties say will enhance operational efficiency and customer experience.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Thursday, 9mobile CEO Obafemi Banigbe disclosed that pilot testing of the roaming service is currently underway in select regions. He expressed confidence that the full rollout would follow shortly after the completion of tests.

“We have deployed service testing in some regions to ensure we achieve seamless connectivity without interruption,” Banigbe said. “We expect to conclude these tests over the weekend and anticipate that by the end of July, we will have a nationwide rollout.”

Banigbe emphasized that the partnership is customer-centric, designed to improve connectivity without requiring any additional steps from subscribers.

He explained that users with active SIMs—defined as those recharged within the last 90 days—need only to power on their phones to access the service. No re-registration is necessary unless the SIM has been inactive.

Importantly, the service will remain under the 9mobile brand, with no changes to billing or user experience. Banigbe described the agreement as a purely commercial arrangement that is “profitable for MTN and affordable for 9mobile,” adding that both companies will continue to compete independently in the marketplace.

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The initiative, he said, is aligned with broader efforts to improve infrastructure efficiency, reduce capital duplication, and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria’s digital economy.

“We must build sustainability and deploy capital judiciously to generate returns for investors,” Banigbe added. “This is in line with the federal government’s push, championed by the president and the minister of communications, to position Nigeria as a top destination for foreign investment in the technology sector.”

Also speaking at the event, Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria—represented by Lynda Saint-Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer—hailed the partnership as a transformative milestone in Nigeria’s telecom industry.

“This is the first of its kind in the country. It marks a shift from mere competition to ‘co-opetition’, where we collaborate to drive efficiency but continue to compete on innovation, service, and customer experience,” Toriola said.

He noted that the agreement aligns with the objectives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the federal government to deepen digital access, enhance industry sustainability, and improve customer satisfaction.

Toriola praised the NCC’s Executive Vice-Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, and Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, for fostering policies that encourage cooperation and strategic investments in the sector.

With the rollout set to begin later this month, the 9mobile-MTN partnership is poised to reshape connectivity dynamics in Nigeria—offering broader reach to underserved regions while enhancing the overall quality of telecom services nationwide.