Can NTEL’s new asset-light model help it survive Nigeria’s competitive telecoms market?

Beleaguered by an untidy ownership change, NTEL (NatCom Development & Investment Limited) missed the peak of a rapidly evolving Nigerian telecoms landscape. Now, to stand a chance of survival, it has restructured its operations from being a traditional telecom operator to a digital infrastructure and asset-light virtual operator. 

NTEL succeeded the old Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), a government-owned monopoly that had about 500,000 customers in the pre-2000 era. It would later succumb to competition from new licenced operators such as MTN, Econet (now Airtel) and Globacom, which offered better services in the post-2000 era.

Despite nptable rebranding attempts, NITEL struggled to provide quality services. Some observers blamed over-hiring and exploring options that didn’t work out for the bad outcome.

“I would say one of the issues that it (NITEL) faced is that there was a plan in the beginning, but there wasn’t a plan for the long term,”, Eshiofuneh Sanni, a former employee, said in a conversation with Technext.

He added that “They didn’t prepare for how quickly the industry would transition or evolve.”

Eshiofuneh Sanni

In 2015, NATCOM bought NITEL’s assets for about $252 million and rebranded the company as NTEL. Subsequently, it launched 4G LTE broadband and unlimited data offerings. For a moment, it appeared as the new competitor. But it was weighed down by old issues such as weak coverage, debt, competition, and funding. 

Interestingly, NTEL was asset-rich. It retained valuable national physical assets and sites but missed opportunities to monetise them through leasing to tower companies.

Stressing how it missed turning its rich infrastructure into money through leasing amid internal mismanagement, Sanni said: “When they were liquidated and Natcom took over, there should have been a plan for national infrastructure. NTEL had the capacity to replicate what IHS is doing now.”

An old NTEL store in Abuja

Additionally, NTEL operated a vague ownership model. With government-private involvement, the exact owner of the company wasn’t clear. The structure gave it away. With no clear identity for expansion, it had no strength to compete with the Big Four. 

Now, as market dominance consolidates around MTN, NTEL is embarking on a dramatic structural pivot. It is transitioning into an asset-light Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and expanding into real estate and fintech.

Also Read: The sordid story of how NITEL was torn apart in multiple fraudulent deals across 14 years.

AMCON and the debt clearance

The story of NTEL was critically defined by its debt profile. 

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) attempted to manage and stabilise the company in 2023/2024. It attempted to resolve its distressed debt by owning a majority stake of around 55%. In August 2025, AMCON injected an initial N30.72 billion (about $20 million) to stabilise operations and prepare for the company’s comeback. 

In an interactive session last month, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AMCON, Gbenga Alade, said NTEL had embarked on a three-pronged transformation strategy aimed at restructuring the company for long-term growth under new investors. 

Alade said the transformation is one of AMCON’s most promising asset recovery and investment success stories. He was confident that the pivot would be a defining moment in the revitalisation process. 

Soji Maurice-Diya, Managing director and Chief executive officer of NTEL

NTEL is now in the final stages of a major restructuring plan. AMCON has begun searching for new investors, a move that will see the management divest its stake in NTEL after what it termed a successful recovery in the company’s value.

The new move is a search for a long-term investor capable of funding the company’s next phase of expansion. 

“This positive announcement marks the official beginning of a structured process to identify a long-term strategic investor that can support NTEL’s sustainable growth and future aspirations,” Soji Maurice-Diya, the managing director and chief executive officer of NTEL, said last month. 

The litmus test for NTEL

NTEL is entering a new phase in its long history. Transforming into a multi-pillar company that focuses on connectivity, digital infrastructure, and real estate demonstrates its aim to be profit-oriented. It’s shifting from a heavy cellular network footprint to an infrastructure- and digital-first model.

Its frontiers are three core models: Beam, Titan and Eden.

The first two pillars focus on expanding into niche connectivity solutions like WakaGo, a global eSIM for travellers, and AirFibre (fixed wireless broadband for enterprises), alongside tower and fibre sharing. 

With Eden, it looks to unlock value from the company’s extensive real estate portfolio through commercial development and asset optimisation. This includes commercial and residential projects, including developments in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.

The big question is whether NTEL will see this new phase through and how it markets itself for trust and sustainability. 

“The leadership has changed. It’s fresher; it’s younger. So, it looks like they’re doing a lot of things right in the way that they’re moving, even their publicity team,” Sanni said. 

He added that “Now, the most important part of that journey is to see if NTEL will break through. The big test is getting investors or getting people to believe in the project.”

Inside NTEL’s asset-light model is the move to separate inherited infrastructure from connectivity and lease them out. Through this, operating as a virtual operator takes away infrastructure costs. 

Compared to the 46 MVNOs licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2023/2024, Sanni believes NTEL is different. It’s a company that has an historic lane and is backed by experience and fresh market plans. However, in a competitive telecoms industry, the company needs to do something different.

Sanni said NTEL needs to start doing “something that nobody else is doing by investing in innovation” and not focus on competing with existing giants.

He suggested leveraging the satellite-to-cell project to announce themselves with a strong statement.

“They can attempt some partnerships with organisations like Starlink, Amazon, see how to do some integrations to outdoor units and, having outdoor units that connect with the satellites that can give you another edge,” he explained. 

Finding itself in a fiercely competitive market after debt recovery efforts, NTEL is in urgent need of fresh investor backing. This will dictate its road to long-term survival and how it relies heavily on one crucial element: strategic innovation.

Also Read: Airtel launches Africa’s first satellite-to-mobile service in DR Congo