At the maiden Rural Connectivity Summit organised by Business Metrics in Lagos, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, said: “We need to move away from talk shops into actions.”

Speaking under the theme “Rethinking Digital Connectivity to Unlock Rural Economic Potential,” Emoekpere said the industry must stop recycling discussions and start building practical, context-specific solutions that meet the real needs of rural Nigerians. 

“We are all part of the talk shop industry, so to speak, as advocates, we go around speaking. But what impact are we having? What impact are we making?” he asked.

ATCON president noted that despite the official claim of about 200 million active telecom subscribers, many of those figures are duplicates. “They are not real people,” he stressed, noting the example of modern iPhones that can host up to eight eSIMs without a physical SIM slot. 

“If you are counting that as eight subscribers, can you see the irony in that, in this, our data? Let us connect real people.”

Away from telecom subscribers, the ATCON president also challenged engineers and service providers to rethink their design approach, saying too many solutions are borrowed from other regions without adaptation. “We just borrow technology. We are very lazy. We borrow technology,” he said. 

“You are supposed to go to an OEM and say, ‘This is a problem I want to solve.’ Design the system to suit that problem.”

According to him, many of Nigeria’s rural challenges, from banking exclusion to market access for farmers, could be solved with basic, fit-for-purpose digital tools. “The lowest of the lowest hanging fruit in the rural communities is that they are unbanked,” he said. 

“If you try and adopt the POS system, for example, and make it a rural solution that allows POS to operate in rural communities, you have already brought people into the banking sector.”

He gave another example: farmers in remote villages selling produce at unfairly low prices because they lack access to real-time market data. “If I tell the village that, I can give you real-time prices of what you produce, what has been sold. Pay me 10 Naira for that information, for example, so that when the middle man comes to me and says, ‘I’m paying,’ the guy says, ‘No, I’ve received information that pineapple today in Lagos is 3,000 Naira.’ Even if you are transporting it, I cannot collect less than 500 Naira,” he said.

Emoekpere emphasised that the problem is not the absence of markets in rural Nigeria, but the industry’s failure to understand and serve that market correctly. “That there is no market in the rural community is wrong. The issue is our approach to that market,” he said.

He urged organisers and participants at the summit to ensure concrete outcomes beyond conversations. “At the end of the day, we are looking at action, actionable points and even identifying potential drivers, say, ‘Mr A is going to do this, Mr B is going to do that.’”

Connecting rural Nigeria requires empathy, innovation, and accountability, far beyond technology deployment. “We must connect real people,” he concluded. 

A new proposal is on the table, telecom users whose lines go inactive will have a full year to retrieve their unspent airtime—so long as they can prove the line belongs to them.

At a recent forum of telecom stakeholders, the Commission dropped what could become a game-changer for millions of prepaid subscribers. This is about drawing a line between what’s fair and what’s convenient—for both customers and mobile operators.

Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of NCC, represented by Rimini Makama, Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, laid it out, stating that the days of networks quietly reclaiming your unused balance may be coming to an end.

“As the telecommunications industry continues to evolve, we must address emerging issues, including the fate of prepaid balances on inactive lines,” Maida said.

If a line is inactive for 12 months, operators must deactivate it. But instead of swallowing the remaining airtime, they’ll be required to notify the user and offer a way to reclaim it. No refund in cash, but redemption through voice bundles, data, or value-added services. The key condition? Prove it’s your line.

The new draft framework doesn’t leave much wiggle room for the operators. NCC’s Head of Legal and Regulatory Services, Mrs Chizua Whyte, put it in clear terms: “It also prohibits monetisation of unclaimed airtime, instead mandates service-based redemptions such as data or voice bundles.”

She went further, spelling out expectations. Operators will be required to audit churned accounts, report unclaimed balances, and launch public awareness campaigns. They have 90 days to fall in line once the guidelines are formalised. For the Commission, audits won’t drag—10 days max.

Whyte added, “This draft seeks to ensure that subscribers maintain rightful access to their purchased credits while operators gain clarity in their responsibilities.”

From the tone of the forum, the NCC is serious about this. The time of ghost airtime balances vanishing into your revenue books may be over. The Commission wants user rights to be taken seriously and service, not profit, comes first.

Countries like the United States, India, and members of the European Union have already outlawed the silent vanishing act of prepaid balances. Now Nigeria is catching up—and pushing even further by demanding transparency, accountability, and user education.

This is a reset because for too long, the question of what happens to airtime on long-dead SIMs has always been unanswered. Now, at least, we’re closer to one. 

Hopefully, this new framework will see the light of day without objections from operators; but for once, the regulator seems ready to take the side of the ordinary Nigerian.

And about time, too.

Meanwhile, 9mobile is far behind, its presence barely felt in the game. According to nPerf’s 2024 report, which analysed mobile internet performance across Nigeria, MTN has not let loose its grip on the market. 

From January 1 to December 31, 2024, MTN led mobile internet in Nigeria across every measurable category, with great performance. Its subscribers enjoyed an average download speed of 17.82 Mbps, leaving Airtel at 9.98 Mbps and Glo at a distant 5.66 Mbps. 

Upload speeds were similar, with MTN averaging 8.05 Mbps, Airtel 4.35 Mbps, and Glo 3.43 Mbps, even as reliance on solid internet connectivity never stopped increasing.

Latency, an important metric for real-time applications such as video calls and gaming, further enhanced MTN’s place in the market. The network achieved an average latency of 79.44 ms, comfortably outperforming Glo’s 89.44 ms and Airtel’s 119.85 ms. 

These figures are particularly important during peak periods (6 PM to 11 PM) when the network issues are at the highest. MTN’s ability to maintain consistent latency levels during these busy hours speaks to its superior infrastructure.

Beyond raw speeds, the quality of experience (QoE) was also analysed. In browsing performance, MTN scored an average success rate of 36.08%, surpassing Airtel at 28.86%, while Glo lagged at 29.42%. 

This difference was also seen in video streaming, where MTN recorded an average streaming success rate of 72.35%, overshadowing Airtel’s 67.04% and Glo’s 53.81%. The data disclosed that whether downloading, browsing, or streaming, MTN subscribers always enjoyed the best experiences.

Airtel, despite being a distant second in most metrics, delivered a commendable performance in specific areas, particularly video streaming. Its streaming rate, at 67.04%, shows a strong emphasis on delivering quality experiences in this domain. 

However, Airtel’s inability to match MTN’s speeds, browsing performance and latency asserted the gap between the two providers.

Glo, on the other hand, had steady progress throughout 2024. Although it lagged in download (5.66 Mbps) and upload speeds (3.43 Mbps), its performance in latency (89.44 ms) revealed some improvement in network responsiveness. 

Glo’s focus on enhancing connectivity is obvious, but it remains apparent that the provider has some ground to cover before it can challenge the likes of MTN or even Airtel.

In 2024, 9mobile lost approximately 8 million subscribers, a huge decline largely attributed to the National Identification Number (NIN) and SIM card verification exercise conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). 

Many subscribers had their lines deactivated due to unverified NINs. Adding to its issues, 9mobile experienced ongoing service disruptions throughout the year, which included frequent network outages, poor coverage, and unresponsive customer service. 

Again, the company faced multiple fibre cuts and infrastructure damages, worsening its service quality challenges. While it was undeniably a tough year for 9mobile, its absence from the statistical report is a story in itself. 

With no representation in the nPerf report, it seems to have resigned itself to the shadows, and we are left to hope that the company will gain back and surpass its place in the competitive mobile internet market.

The methodology behind nPerf’s analysis included the incorporation of millions of user-initiated tests across busy and idle hours, with the report providing an apt and transparent evaluation of network performance. 

The nPerf score, which combines download and upload speeds, latency, and QoE metrics, ensures a holistic assessment of user experience. 

In 2024, MTN’s overall nPerf score was 39,475 points, way above Airtel’s 26,513 points and Glo’s 19,684 points. These figures encapsulate the overall quality of service each provider delivered throughout the year.

In all, MTN’s top place in 2024 was neither accidental nor marginal. Its performance across download and upload speeds, latency, and QoE can be linked to a well-rounded approach to network resilience. 

Airtel showed flashes of brilliance in specific areas, while Glo was behind with incremental improvements. The competition among these providers leaves us watching to see if MTN will maintain its place in 2025 or if other mobile internet providers will meet up and surpass with even better performance.

Meanwhile, MTN capitalized on this churn, welcoming 4,987 new subscribers—representing 63% of total incoming ports from other networks. 

This surge in subscribers placed MTN above other telecom platforms in the market, showcasing its ability to attract dissatisfied users from competitors.

This wave of subscriber migration, part of the NCC’s monthly tracking of industry trends, reveals the challenges faced by 9mobile, which has been struggling to retain its customer base even after its acquisition by LH Telecommunications Limited earlier this year. 

Although there have been attempts at restructuring and repositioning, the company attracted only 30 incoming subscribers, making it the least popular network for customer inflow.

The month’s porting statistics show MTN leading not just in market size but also in its ability to attract discontented users from competitors. 

In addition to MTN’s gains, Airtel received 2,205 new subscribers, while Globacom gained 664, showing that both operators continue to hold appeal among Nigeria’s mobile users.

In total, about 7,886 subscribers switched networks in September, as users pursued better service quality and cost-effective options. These porting patterns align with each provider’s overall subscription numbers. 

MTN retained its top position in the market with a strong base of 78 million active subscribers. Airtel followed with 53.7 million, while Globacom held a distant third place at 19 million, having experienced some subscriber losses earlier this year. 

With consistent challenges and customer departures, 9mobile’s active subscriptions were reduced to 3.6 million by the end of September, emphasizing the difficulties for the company to maintain a solid market presence. 

The NCC attributes the changing subscriber sector to multiple factors, including service quality improvements among some operators and the increasingly competitive pricing strategies offered by mobile network providers. 

Many users reportedly seek more reliable service and also better call and data rates, prompting network switching as they respond to promotional offerings.

This porting activity comes after a significant development in July 2023, when 9mobile announced its acquisition by LH Telecommunications Limited. 

The deal, approved by both the NCC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), involved a major capital injection from the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) and saw LH Telecommunications take 95.5% control of 9mobile. 

This transfer led to a complete board reshuffle, with Thomas Etuh assuming the role of board chairman and other notable figures such as Senator Daisy Ehanire Danjuma joining as directors.

With the newly restructured 9mobile looking to stabilize its operations, it faces a difficult path in regaining lost ground. 

While the company’s leadership aims to leverage the fresh capital and new management team to revitalize its market share, its ability to appeal to and retain subscribers will be tough as fierce competition from larger players like MTN, Airtel, and Globacom continues to increase. 

This proposal has resulted from continuously increasing operational challenges telecom companies in Nigeria are facing, primarily due to the surging costs of fuel and maintenance, which have made it difficult to sustain service quality.

NATCOMS has put forward the high financial pressures telecom operators have been under in recent years. Despite the alarming rise in operational costs, the last tariff adjustment in Nigeria was over a decade ago. 

According to Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, National President of NATCOMS, the telecom sector has been struggling to cope with the increasing cost of key resources such as diesel and petrol, which are essential for running telecom infrastructure. These operational challenges are made worse by unreliable power supply, particularly in remote areas, which further inflates the cost of keeping the networks functional.

The sharp increase in fuel prices in recent months has made it even more difficult for telecom companies to keep pace with the rising demand for their services. For instance, diesel prices have soared by over 200% in the past year alone, placing a huge burden on operators who depend on it to power base stations and other necessary infrastructure.

The Call for a Tariff Adjustment

The proposed 10% tariff hike is seen as an unignorable move to address the financial difficulties faced by telecom operators. Ogunbanjo has stressed that this increase is necessary not just for improving service quality but also for ensuring the sustainability of the industry. Without this adjustment, telecom companies may struggle to maintain and expand their infrastructure, which could lead to service degradation or even more severe network outages in the future.

Despite its possible impact on consumer expenses, the tariff hike is a way to avoid more drastic measures such as service rationing or “load shedding,” which could cripple key sectors of the economy. 

NATCOMS warns that without the necessary revenue boost, telecom companies may resort to limiting service availability in certain areas, prioritising high-revenue regions while leaving others underserved.

Service Rationing: A Potential Consequence

One of the more controversial solutions raised by operators in the sector is the idea of load shedding. In order to cut operational costs, some telecom providers have already started limiting service in specific regions, concentrating their efforts on areas where they generate the most revenue. 

This practice, akin to electricity rationing in certain parts of Nigeria, has raised talks about its possible effects on critical sectors such as banking, education, and healthcare. If implemented more widely, it could severely disrupt services that are increasingly reliant on consistent telecom access, from online banking to virtual healthcare consultations.

Ogunbanjo rejects load shedding as a viable solution, warning that it would have dire consequences for businesses and individuals who rely on telecom services for daily operations. “Rationing service like this would hurt many sectors—virtual meetings, online transactions, and more—would all be jeopardised,” he said.

Exploring Alternatives

Beyond tariff adjustments, Ogunbanjo suggests that government intervention in the form of subsidies or tax relief could also ease the burden on telecom operators. Added to this, there are calls for investments in alternative energy sources such as solar power to reduce the sector’s dependence on volatile fuel prices.

Moving towards renewable energy will enable operators to lower their operating costs and become more resilient to fuel price hikes.

The current situation tells us the importance of providing telecom operators with a conducive environment to operate, through clear and supportive regulations, so that they can invest in innovation and infrastructure. 

According to experts like Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives, the telecom industry is currently in an “intensive care unit,” facing huge financial limitations. This points to the urgent need for both the government and the NCC to take quick action to safeguard the future of telecom services in Nigeria.

While the proposed 10% increase may seem burdensome for consumers, it is seen as necessary to maintain service quality and ensure the sustainability of the sector. However, in light of the potential adverse effects on business and essential services, stakeholders must consider all options, including government support and alternative energy solutions, to strike a balance between ensuring telecom sustainability and protecting consumers.