MTN Group and Airtel Africa has partnered to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria.

This collaboration, aimed at promoting digital and financial inclusion across Africa, will also ensure compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the two companies stated that the partnership aims to strengthen their commitment to advancing digital and financial inclusion across Africa.

The sharing agreements aim to improve network cost efficiency, expand coverage, and deliver better mobile services to millions of customers, especially those in remote and rural areas who have yet to fully experience the benefits of a connected life.

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita, speaking on the agreements, stated that operators across the continent are experiencing sustained demand for digital services, and the partnership will help meet these growing needs.

“As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress. We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets.

“To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers. That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns,” he said.

Meanwhile, Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar, emphasized that the two companies are moving past competition to work towards a shared goal.

“As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services and our offerings we are building common infrastructure, within the permissible regulatory framework, to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway to drive digital and financial inclusion at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure to drive operational efficiencies and benefits for our customers,” he said.

This initiative is part of a global trend towards network sharing. By collaborating, telecom operators can explore innovative, pro-competitive solutions that enhance service quality while reducing costs. Sharing infrastructure has the potential to deliver reliable, world-class mobile services to an increasing number of customers across Africa.

After finalizing agreements in Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, and Zambia.

They are considering various agreements, such as RAN sharing and commercial and technical arrangements for fiber infrastructure sharing, along with the potential construction of fiber networks if needed.