Swift Telephone Network Secures NCC Unified Access Licence
By TOSI ORE
SWIFT Telephone Network Limited (STN) has secured a Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), opening a new phase for the indigenous telecommunications company.
According to the company, the licence follows years of regulatory engagement, planning and efforts to rebuild its operations.
STN said it formally applied for the UASL on 22 February 2022. The NCC has now approved the application, paving the way for the company to operate under the new licence framework.
For STN, however, the approval represents more than a regulatory milestone. The company described it as a bridge between its early beginnings and its ambition to become a broader telecommunications operator.
Founded in 1998 under the leadership of Clara Adetuyi, STN said it began as a small business centre established around the NUGA Games.
Over time, the company expanded its services. By 1999–2000, it said it had introduced voicemail services to the University of Lagos community.
In 2003, STN also said it became the first provider of digital landline services in Yaba. That same year, it supported WAEC Direct, which enabled candidates to access examination results.
The company later provided landline services to the military, the World Health Organisation and government agencies, according to its account.
However, STN’s growth faced a major setback in November 2010. Its operations stopped following what the company described as infrastructure losses and boardroom challenges.
Rather than abandon the business, the company began rebuilding several years later.
In February 2017, Oluwole Adetuyi revived STN with Yetunde Okafor. The management subsequently worked to settle regulatory obligations and reinstate the company’s licence in 2019.
STN resumed operations in September that year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic soon disrupted enterprise demand and forced the company to rethink its business strategy.
Consequently, STN turned its attention to transformation and longer-term expansion. The UASL application eventually became part of that strategy.
Now, with the licence granted, the company says it plans to invest in skills development for engineers and digital professionals.
It also intends to deepen partnerships with Nigerian vendors and service providers. Furthermore, STN says it will seek to expand connectivity, create opportunities across the telecommunications value chain and strengthen indigenous technical capabilities.
“Our ambition is clear,” STN Director, Legal and Regulatory, Yetunde Okafor, said. “To build a telecommunications company that is proudly Nigerian in its roots, global in its outlook, and transformational in its impact.”
Meanwhile, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Oluwole Adetuyi described the licence as another stage in the company’s long journey.
STN said it will announce strategic partnerships and rollout plans in the coming weeks.
