Frank Eleanya

Lagos

Writer at Freelance

Senior Reporter at TechCabal

Senior reporter at @techcabal 🥷 ex-BusinessDay. coverage areas: Telecom, Big Tech, Infrastructure, and Business.

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Articles

9mobile gets NCC approval to launch national roaming on MTN

1 week ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

After nearly five years of regulatory delays, 9mobile has secured approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to launch national roaming services on MTN Nigeria’s infrastructure in June 2025, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal. This move is a critical lifeline for the struggling operator, whose market share has plummeted to 1.72% in April 2025, down from 6.6% in 2020 when it first sought the approval.
Glo’s market share falls to a record low of 11.9%

1 week ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

Globacom, popularly known as Glo, Nigeria’s third-largest telecommunications operator, has seen its market share fall to an all-time low of 11.9% in April 2025, according to the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The operator lost 108,393 subscribers in just one month, dropping from 20.7 million in March to 20.6 million in April.
Why IHS Towers is cutting assets in smaller markets

1 week ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, IHS Holdings—Africa’s largest independent telecom tower operator—announced the sale of its Rwandan operations to Paradigm Tower Ventures for up to $274.5 million. Although the deal covers just 1,465 tower sites—less than 4% of IHS’s total portfolio—it marks a clear strategic pivot: the company is shifting away from smaller, lower-margin markets to focus on larger, high-growth African economies where scale offers stronger operational leverage and profitability.
MongoDB eyes Africa’s $100B digital opportunity, enters Nigeria

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

MongoDB, a global database management systems provider, is officially entering the African market, starting with Nigeria, as it looks to tap into the continent’s . This move is anchored by a strategic partnership with Tier 5 Technologies, a West African enterprise IT and cloud services provider, and marks MongoDB’s first physical presence on the continent. The company is betting on Nigeria’s fast-growing tech sector to serve as a launchpad for wider African expansion.
Mavin Records' exec says ignoring AI in music industry is a mistake

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

As artificial intelligence reshapes the global music industry—powering everything from AI-generated vocals and full albums in the U.S. to virtual idols in South Korea and predictive hit-making in Scandinavia—Nigeria’s music scene remains strikingly slow to adapt. Despite being Africa’s most influential music market, only a few Nigerian artists and producers are exploring AI tools, missing out on a wave of innovation that is redefining how music is created, promoted, and consumed worldwide.
9mobile, MTN worst hit as fibre cuts cause record network outages

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

Nigeria’s telecommunications networks experienced a sharp rise in major service disruptions in May 2025, as fibre cuts, power outages, and system failures pushed network outages to their highest point this year. According to data compiled by Uptime, a network monitoring platform, the worst-hit operators were 9mobile and MTN Nigeria, raising concerns about the quality of telecom services in Africa’s largest mobile market.
Lebara bets on bundles to win in Nigeria’s $20B telecom market

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

When Lebara Nigeria, a subsidiary of the London-based Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Lebara, launches in Q3 2025, it will challenge the norm of traditional airtime sales by offering voice bundles and data packages tailored to specific user needs. This move will give subscribers more control over their spending, reduce the cost of calls, and deliver longer talk time and browsing value.
Meta could take millions of SMEs with it, if it exits Nigeria

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya |Ngozi Chukwu

In April 2025, a legal ruling by Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal marked a pivotal moment in the intensifying standoff between Meta Platforms Inc. and the Nigerian government. The tribunal upheld a $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Meta—parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram—for multiple violations of Nigeria’s data protection and consumer laws.
USPF launches coalition to drive inclusive learning

2 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an initiative of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), will launch the USPFImpact Alliance, a coalition aimed at expanding inclusive education and digital access in Nigeria’s underserved communities. With a long-standing mandate to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide, the USPF has invested in over 2,500 educational projects since 2007.
Inside the server glitch behind JAMB’s scrambled UTME score

3 weeks ago | techcabal.com | Frank Eleanya

It began with one skipped software patch. Within a few days, the results from 157 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres were spitting out scrambled UTME scores, warping the futures of 380,000 students and sending three-quarters of Nigeria’s 1.95 million test-takers below the 200-point university cutoff.