BTEL Becomes Nigeria’s Newest Entrant To Compete With MTN, Glo As Mobile Network Provider

A new bride has hit the Nigerian mobile network business to entrench the competition in the country’s juicy telecommunication sector.

BTEL, operated by BRICLINKS Africa PLC (BRICNET), said it has been licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to operate as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).

The new entrant received the Tier 2 license out of the four license categories offered by the NCC.

BTEL said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that the NCC approved the license on the 1st May 2023 to enable Briclinks Africa Plc to “operate alongside other Mobile Network Operator (MNOs) such as MTN, AIRTEL, GLO, and 9MOBILE by riding on their existing infrastructure.”

An MVNO is a telecommunications product and service operator that rides on top of the capacity of a fully Licenced Telecommunications Service provider or Mobile Network Operator (MNO).

The MVNO reaches a “Wholesale Agreement” or “Revenue Sharing Agreement” with the Telecommunications Company
(Telco) through negotiations and delivers its services after bulk purchasing resources from the Telco.

Based on the licensing framework for the establishment of MVNO in Nigeria, a Tier 2 license holder can own and issues its SIM; own and operate its own Intelligent network and own and Operate EIR/HLR/AUC/HSS

NCC framework state, “A Virtual Operator (VO) within this tier assumes more control of the value chain which allows it to significantly differentiate itself from its host. The VO does not have Core Switching and Interconnect capabilities but can set up its own Intelligent Network (IN) to provide its own IN services to the customer.

“It can own more of the customer segment than Tier-1 operators with the capacity of establishing its own Home Subscriber Register or Authentication centre, Equipment Identity Register, and Home Location Register, if it desires to.

“They rely on the number ranges of their host MNOs although they have access to short codes or premium numbers for customer care and must adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Commission. Its capacity to control its own tariff structure and packages to a high degree allows it to generate its own revenue through traffic from its own customers but relies on a shared revenue structure with the host for inbound calls.”