Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show that IHS shareholders will vote on the proposed deal at an extraordinary general meeting in London later this year. 

If approved, MTN will acquire all remaining shares in IHS for $8.50 per share in cash and remove the company from the New York Stock Exchange.

The offer values IHS at an implied equity value of about $2.9 billion, excluding its Latin American operations. The price also represents a 9.7% premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of February 4, 2026.

MTN plans to fund the transaction with about $1.1 billion from IHS’s existing balance sheet and another $1.1 billion from its own liquidity and debt facilities.

The deal already has support from shareholders controlling more than 40% of voting rights. MTN’s subsidiary, Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings, agreed to vote its 85.2 million shares in favour of the transaction. Those shares account for roughly 21.1% of IHS voting power.

Another major investor, Oranje-Nassau Développement, linked to French investment group Wendel, also committed its support. The firm controls about 63 million shares, representing nearly 19.6% of voting rights.

MTN investor documents indicate that shareholders representing around 46% of voting power are already aligned behind the transaction ahead of the meeting.

IHS’s board has also endorsed the acquisition. “The board unanimously authorised and approved the execution, delivery and performance of the merger agreement,” the company said in the filing.

Once completed, the transaction will end IHS’s run as a publicly traded company, just five years after its New York listing in 2021. The company had positioned itself as an independent infrastructure provider serving several mobile operators across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Still, MTN has been one of its biggest customers and shareholders for years.

The acquisition will also give MTN direct ownership of a large part of the infrastructure supporting its mobile operations across Africa. IHS operates about 28,700 towers across its markets, including roughly 15,942 towers in Nigeria, where it holds an estimated 41 per cent market share.

MTN operates in all of IHS’s African markets, including Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia.

Telecom operators across Africa have moved to take greater control of critical infrastructure as inflation, currency pressure and network costs squeeze margins.

In 2024, Airtel launched Airtel Africa Fibre to manage its 70,000-kilometre fibre network directly. Safaricom followed in 2025 by taking control of power systems at its telecom sites and deploying its own solar infrastructure instead of relying fully on tower-management contractors.

The IHS deal is expected to reduce dependence on third-party tower companies for MTN, while improving network management and foreign exchange risk control across key markets.

The filing also showed that employee stock awards under IHS’s incentive plans will be converted into cash payments based on the $8.50 offer price if the transaction goes through.

The merger still requires approval from at least two-thirds of votes cast at the shareholder meeting before it can proceed.

Over the period, according to the latest data from nPerf reveal average download speeds doubled, rising from 7.1 Mbps to 14.7 Mbps, while upload speeds more than quadrupled, increasing from 1.77 Mbps to 7.28 Mbps.

This improvement comes in the context of rapid growth in mobile data consumption. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), volumes exchanged on mobile networks increased by 140% between January 2023 and November 2025, rising from 518,000 terabits to more than 1.23 million terabits.

This increase reflects the growing adoption of digital services and places additional pressure on mobile infrastructures.

An accelerated technological transition

The performance gains observed by nPerf are primarily driven by the widespread adoption of 4G.

Tests conducted in 4G on the networks of MTN, Airtel and Globacom now account for 64% of measurements, compared with 49% in 2022.

Operators play a central role in this transition through sustained investments in the expansion and modernization of their networks, notably through partnerships such as the one established between MTN and Airtel to improve coverage in rural areas.

New use cases enabled by improved speeds

The significant increase in mobile speeds over the past year in Nigeria opens the door to new use cases and opportunities for users, such as participating in videoconferences, carrying out online financial transactions, or watching movies and series on streaming platforms with relatively smooth playback.

Despite these speed increases paving the way for an improved online experience, the streaming performance measured by nPerf has not improved, and further efforts are still required from operators to enhance performance, for example by improving network densification, increasing interconnections, or deploying more YouTube cache servers within the country.

The nPerf application allows users to measure mobile connection performance on Android and iOS devices.

By assessing download and upload speeds, it helps users better understand the quality of their connection, whether for watching a movie via streaming or making a video call.

Still fragile accessibility

In November 2025, Nigeria reached a broadband penetration rate of 50.58%, thereby exceeding the initial target of 50% set for 2025.

However, disparities between urban and rural areas persist, and digital inclusion remains a major challenge.

Operators and the government continue to work on solutions to expand 4G and 5G coverage, while improving the accessibility and resilience of these infrastructures.

Effective August 10, the new rates began applying to over 15 popular international destinations, including the United States which has moved to ₦30 per minute, down from ₦35, United Kingdom is now N350 from ₦400, while India also moved down to ₦40 from N45.

The rates for China, Saudi Arabia and Cameroon however recorded major reductions moving to ₦75, ₦300 and ₦700 respectively.

The reduction was also extended to African countries including Benin Republic which goes for ₦650 per minute, Niger Republic ₦750, Ghana ₦500, and Togo ₦650. United Arab Emirates also moved from ₦450 to ₦325, Germany to ₦550, Côte d’Ivoire ₦700, Libya ₦700, while calls to Malawi is now ₦1,100 from ₦1,200.

Glo aims to provide more value for its customers through these revised rates, encouraging them to make Glo their preferred network for international calls. New IDD bundles will also be introduced, offering frequent international callers even more attractive deals.

Globacom, which remained optimistic that frequent international callers will benefit immensely from the reductions in IDD bundles, enjoined customers to take advantage of the new rates to stay connected with friends and business associates across the globe.

New data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that 38 ISPs lost over 18,000 customers between Q3 2024 and Q1 2025, revealing the high cost pressures on households and businesses.

Starlink, the second-largest ISP in Nigeria and widely considered a premium option, suffered a significant drop. Its customer base fell by over 6,000; from 65,564 to 59,509. 

Spectranet, the oldest and largest in the sector, shed 2,189 subscribers, while FibreOne, once the third-biggest ISP by user count, recorded the steepest fall, losing more than 14,000 customers.

These numbers may look small in isolation, but in the bigger market space, they reveal a shrinking space for ISPs. 

While ISPs serve fewer than 300,000 users collectively, Nigeria’s mobile network operators (MNOs), MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, command over 141 million active internet subscriptions. That’s more than 99.8% of the market, and the gap is widening.

Why are users walking away? One clear reason is expenses. In February, the NCC approved a 50% increase in voice and data tariffs across all operators. Starlink soon followed, raising its monthly price from ₦38,000 to ₦57,000 by April. 

In contrast, broadband plans from mobile networks remained relatively affordable, making it a no-brainer for many to switch.

Jide Awe, a technology policy expert and founder of Jidaw.com, links the decline directly to the economic challenges. He told Nairametrics that “The rising costs of data, equipment, and power supply mean many families and small businesses have to cut costs and focus strictly on essentials. Maintaining subscriptions isn’t as much of a priority for many. Starlink, in particular, is more expensive in terms of device and subscription costs.”

Beyond price, MNOs have now muscled into the fibre broadband space, once a core domain for fixed-line ISPs. MTN and Airtel, for instance, are aggressively rolling out Fibre to the Home (FTTH) services, directly competing with traditional ISPs, and with more resources and deeper infrastructure reach.

“I don’t think this is fair to the smaller operators (the ISPs),” said Tony Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). He also pointed to the tariff hike and the massive disparity in market share as additional issues.

It’s not just competition or cost. Operational realities are difficult for ISPs. Running diesel-powered infrastructure in a country with unstable power supply eats into profits. International bandwidth is so expensive, Right of Way (RoW) fees and multiple taxes in different states further drain resources. Urban areas suffer frequent cable vandalism and theft, slowing down service and customer confidence.

Of the 234 licensed ISPs in Nigeria, only 127 had any active users in Q1 2025. Many operate in survival mode, with no clear path to scale. Meanwhile, mobile networks are doing better, buoyed by reach, convenience, and price flexibility.

So what’s next for ISPs?

Awe believes the current model has run its course. “The ISPs should explore the provision of tailored services for SMEs, real estate, health, and education. With strategic planning, they can further digital transformation within sectors and across industries. In this regard, it is advisable to collaborate with agile, tech-savvy SMEs and startups to drive innovation.”

He also advises them to adopt bundled service models and reduce operating costs by investing in solar energy and local alternatives. Improving customer service, reliability, and delivering niche solutions could also help claw back market relevance.

But beyond business tweaks, many operators say the rules of the game need to change. NCC and policymakers need to create a level playing field that doesn’t leave fixed ISPs to fend for themselves against the Goliaths of the telecom industry.

Without regulatory support and an updated broadband strategy, Nigeria could end up with fewer ISPs, and even fewer real broadband choices.