Page 112 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Moldova to Enter EU Roaming Area in January 2026

The Moldova citizens of as of 1 January services in the European Union without The European Commission has made
2026 will be able to use mobile phone paying additional roaming charges. statements to this effect, which proposes
the integration of Moldova into the EU
roaming zone. Thus, Moldovans will be
able to make calls, send SMS messages
and access mobile internet in the member
states of the European Union at the same
rates as at home. "Moldovans, get ready to
say hello in the EU without extra charges!
It's another step that brings us closer,
and it's worth being celebrated! In the EU,
it's like being at home!" reads a message
posted on the official page of the European
Commission. The Commission's decision
will facilitate travel, business relations and
contact with the Diaspora.

Nigeria’s Telecom Regulator Greenlights MTN and 9Mobile’s Three-Year
Roaming Deal

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has authorised
a three-year national roaming deal that lets 9Mobile customers
roam on MTN’s network across Nigeria. Roughly 2.8 million
9Mobile users—just 1.7 % of the market—stand to gain instant
coverage in rural and peri-urban “no-service” zones. MTN says
sharing its 90 million-line footprint will cut industry costs and
advance the regulator’s infrastructure-sharing agenda. The pact
supports 9Mobile’s $3 billion turnaround plan and could slow years
of subscriber losses. Under the arrangement, 9Mobile subscribers
can automatically connect to MTN towers wherever their network
is unavailable, paying home-network rates while enjoying MTN’s
wider 2G-to-4G footprint. For millions of 9Mobile customers,
particularly in underserved northern and south-south corridors, the
deal should translate into fewer dropped calls, faster data speeds
and the ability to keep a single SIM active while travelling. MTN
controls more than half of Nigeria’s 172 million active mobile lines,
covering settlements many operators still view as commercially
marginal. By piggy-backing on that reach, 9Mobile can promise
seamless service in a short time—something spectrum swaps or
costly tower builds would take years to deliver. Once a fast-growing
challenger, 9Mobile’s subscriber base has collapsed from over 13
million to about 3.4 million—now a mere 2.15% market share—due
to debt, ownership issues, and inconsistent service quality that
drove customers away. Chief executive Obafemi Banigbe’s $3
billion recovery blueprint banks on “build where we must, share
where we can”. National roaming ticks that second box, lowering
capital outlay, just as high interest rates make new borrowing
painful. For MTN, renting excess capacity is an easy new revenue
stream that does not cannibalise its core business; the company cutting wars that could jeopardise profit margins.
has long argued that “network-as-a-service” is smarter than outright In 2020, the commission initiated a roaming test between MTN
acquisitions. Regulators view roaming as a means to promote and 9Mobile in Ondo State and has since encouraged competitors
universal access to telecommunications without instigating price- to adopt tower and fibre-sharing models.

112 JUNE-JULY 2025