Swift Telephone Network Gets Federal Licence to Operate Nationwide, Joins MTN, Airtel, Globacom, 9mobile, Lebara

Swift Telephone Network Limited (STN) has received a Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) from the federal government, clearing the indigenous telecom company to provide telecommunications services across Nigeria.

STN announced the licence on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, calling it a key milestone in its long effort to grow its telecoms operations. The company said it will reveal its strategic partnerships and national rollout plans in the coming weeks.

With the licence secured, STN now competes in a market that includes MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, 9mobile and Lebara.

What STN says it will focus on

Managing Director and CEO Oluwole Adetuyi said the company's focus areas include training engineers and digital professionals, forging partnerships with Nigerian vendors, widening connectivity to close the digital divide, and creating economic opportunities across the telecoms value chain.

Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Yetunde Okafor said STN aims to build a business rooted in Nigeria but competitive on a global scale.

Okafor said: "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."

She added: "We want to connect people to opportunities, businesses to customers, and Nigeria to the possibilities of the digital future."

Long road from 1998 to a national licence

Adetuyi revived STN in February 2017 after the company's operations shut down in November 2010. He described the licence as a step, not an endpoint.

He said: "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."

STN was founded in 1998 and built an early footprint in digital landline services, voicemail and connectivity projects for institutions including the World Health Organisation and the Nigerian military.

The company formally applied for the UASL on February 22, 2022, after rebuilding its operations and settling regulatory obligations that followed its earlier shutdown. Its operations had ceased in November 2010 following infrastructure losses and boardroom challenges.

Adetuyi revived the company in February 2017 alongside Okafor. After reinstating its licence in 2019, STN resumed operations in September of the same year.

Market context

Lebara is also entering Nigeria's telecoms market as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), meaning it delivers services using infrastructure owned by existing network operators rather than building its own. That approach lets it compete on pricing, distribution and customer experience without the capital outlay of a full mobile network. Its initial bundle covers mobile voice, SMS and data, alongside features such as usage tracking.

STN's entry adds another operator to a market long dominated by a handful of players, and the company's pricing and rollout decisions will be watched closely by consumers and businesses already grappling with data and voice costs.