MTN Group and Airtel Africa have agreed to share mobile phone network infrastructure in Nigeria and Uganda.
On Wednesday, the two companies stated that the agreement is designed to protect investments while expanding service coverage.
Mobile operators in Africa are experiencing sustained demand for digital and financial services, but the cost of building and maintaining networks, particularly for fast 5G connections, remains high.
The companies also mentioned that they will explore potential opportunities in other markets, such as Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, and Zambia.
Among the deals being considered are sharing radio access networks, which represent the largest share of network deployment and operational costs; commercial and technical agreements for sharing fibre infrastructure; and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
The companies emphasized, “This collaboration does not prevent the parties from working with other operators in their respective markets.”
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita commented on the agreement, saying, “At MTN, our vision is to deliver digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress. We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets, and to meet this demand, we are investing in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers. There are also opportunities within regulatory frameworks to share resources, driving greater efficiencies and improving returns.”
Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar added that the agreement would help avoid duplicating costly infrastructure. He noted that infrastructure sharing enables operators to expand network coverage more quickly, particularly in rural or less densely populated areas where building separate networks may not be economically viable.
