Swift Emerges as New Telco to Challenge MTN, Airtel, Glo

By Adedapo Adesanya

A new telecommunications player, Swift Telephone Network Limited (STN), is set to enter Nigeria’s competitive communications market after securing a Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The licence gives STN the regulatory backing to provide a broad range of services, including fixed telephony, digital mobile services, national long-distance services and international gateway services, positioning the company to compete with established operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria.

The UASL, valid for an initial 10-year period, is subject to renewal or regulatory modification under Section 32 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

STN said the licence followed years of planning, regulatory engagement and persistence, describing the development as a major step in its ambition to establish itself as a significant player in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

The chief executive of STN, Mr Oluwole Adetuyi, said the licence would serve as a platform for the company to expand its operations and strengthen its presence in the sector.

“This licence is not the destination. It is the bridge. From a small business centre in 1998 to a UASL operator in 2026, the journey has been long. But the journey has never stopped,” he said.

According to Mr Adetuyi, STN’s growth has been driven by its ability to survive, adapt and reinvent itself in response to changing conditions in the Nigerian communications industry.

On her part, the Director of Legal and Regulatory at STN, Mrs Yetunde Okafor, said the company’s ambition was to build a telecommunications business with Nigerian roots and a global outlook.

“Our ambition is clear. To build a telecommunications company that is proudly Nigerian in its roots, global in its outlook, and transformational in its impact.

“We want to connect people to opportunities, businesses to customers, and Nigeria to the possibilities of the digital future,” she said.

STN said it plans to develop technical capacity, expand connectivity and create opportunities across the telecommunications value chain as it prepares to roll out its services.

The company said its initiatives would include skills development for engineers and digital professionals, partnerships with Nigerian vendors and service providers, expansion of connectivity to underserved areas and the development of indigenous technical capabilities.

STN said it would announce strategic partnerships and its rollout plans in the coming weeks.

The company was founded in 1998 under the leadership of the late Mrs Clara Adetuyi and initially operated as a small umbrella and table calling centre established to support the NUGA Games.

In 2003, STN became the first provider of digital landline services in Yaba, Lagos, at a time when neither NITEL nor other operators had deployed digital telephony in the area.

The issuance of the UASL now gives STN the regulatory framework to expand beyond its earlier operations and enter the broader market for mobile and fixed communications services.