"Telecommunications company MTN spends $377 million to generate revenue from its network, offering infrastructure to rival providers for lease"
MTN Nigeria, one of Africa's leading telecommunications companies, has announced a strategic shift towards monetizing its infrastructure, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving telecom landscape. This move is part of the company's broader strategic reinvention, Ambition 2025, which focuses on pivoting to a platform-based business model.
In the first half of 2025, MTN Nigeria's performance showed strong momentum, with a 54.6% year-on-year increase in service revenue to ₦2.36 trillion ($1.57 billion). The company posted a profit after tax of ₦414.9 billion ($276.6 million), and generated a positive free cash flow of ₦409.8 billion ($273.2 million), up 18%.
A significant part of this strategy involves leasing its advanced telecom infrastructure to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and other wholesale customers under a network-as-a-service (NaaS) model. This approach allows MVNOs to access high-quality network resources without the sunk costs, accelerating digital ecosystem growth in Nigeria's telecom market.
MTN has rebranded its digital infrastructure platform (Bayobab) to deliver open-access fiber and 5G connectivity as a service. The company offers network leasing and wholesale solutions, including national roaming agreements, facilitating MVNO operations on its infrastructure.
One MVNO, London-based Lebara, is set to launch in Nigeria in Q3 2025 using MTN's network as its foundation. This infrastructure monetization complements MTN Nigeria's strong operational performance and investments in network expansion to serve a growing subscriber base, especially in data and digital services.
Financially, MTN's wholesale and enterprise revenue segments—bolstered by infrastructure leasing—have grown steadily, contributing to the group’s margin expansion and capital efficiency. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) rose an impressive 119.5% to ₦1.2 trillion ($800 million), and margins increased to 50.6%. Capex intensity hit 23.8%, with a focus on network upgrades, fibre-to-the-home rollout, new data centres, and digital backend systems.
Capital expenditure (excluding leases) increased by 288.4% year-on-year to ₦565.7 billion ($377.13 million), reflecting MTN Nigeria's commitment to infrastructure development. However, Capex will moderate in H2, aligning with full-year goals while supporting continued cash flow recovery.
The telecom industry is shifting towards shared infrastructure, open networks, and diversified revenue models. MTN Nigeria's strategy is timely, positioning the company to capitalize on these trends and drive growth in the Nigerian market.
As MTN Nigeria continues to execute its infrastructure monetization strategy, it is poised to become the landlord of Nigerian telecoms, monetizing assets like its tower sites, fibre network, and backend systems. This approach will result in better coverage, faster internet, and more reliable service for the average Nigerian.
In addition to voice and data revenue, MTN's H1 2025 data revenue soared by 69.2% due to rising prices and a 46.4% growth in data traffic. The total subscriber count increased by 6.7% to 84.7 million, and active data users increased by 11.8% to 51 million. Voice revenue also increased by 40.3%.
This strategic shift towards infrastructure monetization is a testament to MTN Nigeria's commitment to innovation and growth in the Nigerian market. As the company continues to invest in infrastructure, it is set to lead the way in digital services, fintech, and cloud computing solutions in Africa.
[1] MTN Group. (2025). MTN Nigeria's Ambition 2025: A Strategic Shift Towards Infrastructure Monetization. Retrieved from www.mtn.com/investors/reports-and-presentations [2] MTN Group. (2025). MTN Nigeria's H1 2025 Financial Results. Retrieved from www.mtn.com/investors/results-centre [3] MTN Group. (2025). MTN Nigeria's Infrastructure Expansion and Network-as-a-Service Offerings. Retrieved from www.mtn.com/about/our-operations/nigeria [4] MTN Group. (2025). MTN Nigeria's Leasing Deals with IHS Towers and American Tower Corporation. Retrieved from www.mtn.com/investors/reports-and-presentations [5] MTN Group. (2025). MTN Nigeria's MVNO Strategy and Partnership with Lebara. Retrieved from www.mtn.com/partners/mvno
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