Hot SourceEmma Okonji
MTN and 9mobile, yesterday in Lagos, announced a national roaming agreement partnership that would enable 9moble customers to leverage on MTN’s radio network infrastructure to make uninterrupted voice calls across Nigeria, where MTN has network coverage.
The initiative according to the two telecoms company, the agreement, which is a three-year term partnership, is in line with the policy of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on telecoms industry collaboration that will bring about cost-efficient service delivery.
Speaking on the partnership during a press conference yesterday in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, Mr. Obafemi Banigbe, said the partnership would enable 9mobile customers to leverage on the MTN radio infrastructure, to enhance call connectivity in every city where MTN is present.
According to Banigbe, “We are currently entering into a partnership with MTN, where we have signed a national agreement for a three-year term that allows nine mobile subscribers to be able to use MTN’s radio access coverage across the country, and that is quite exciting for us in 9mobile.”
Our mantra still has not changed, as we continue to invest in the development of our network infrastructure, invest in our core network operating system, invest in the operating of our payment system, and our transmission infrastructure. We consider it an opportunity to leverage on the infrastructure that MTN has in place across the country in order for us to extend our services to our end customers, Banigbe further said.
Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, who represented the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Dr. Karl Toriola, commended the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani and Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida and the entire leadership of the NCC for their support in pushing through the partnership.
“We are very grateful to our minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the NCC for championing the drive for cost-efficient industry partnership and collaboration. At MTN, we are very committed to driving collaboration and we are very committed to pushing the boundaries and ensuring that the people of Nigeria get the best that is possible,” Saint-Nwafor said.
Fielding questions from journalists, Banigbe said testing and trial testing would continue till the end of July, when the connectivity that would enable access to MTN radio infrastructure across the country, would be completed.
“So what 9mobile subscribers need to when we roll out nationwide is to just switch back their mobile phone on. If the number is registered, and you have a valid NIN that is linked to your phone, that means you don’t need to re-register your number. And if you don’t need to re-register your number, all you simply need to do is recharge. If you have not recharged in a long time, beyond the time of 90 days, you will recharge and then you will be able to access the 9mobile network by leveraging the MTN radio infrastructure,” Banigbe said.
