Two new CDMA operators are planning to launch into the crowded Nigerian mobile market, reports Nigeria’s Business Day newspaper. One new brand will be ‘Expresso,’ launched by Nigerian fixed-line operator Intercellular, while the other is ‘O-Mobile,’ operated by Prestel Satellite Communications. Both have received Unified Access Service Licences (UASLs), which permit them to operate both fixed and mobile networks. Business Day says Expresso will be bankrolled by Sudan’s Sudatel, which recently acquired a 70 percent stake in Intercellular for US$50 million. The Sudanese state-owned incumbent operator is expected to inject US$500 million into the business over the next five years. Specific launch dates for either operator are not known.

The new players will launch into a market that already has nine mobile networks. The introduction of UASL in 2006 paved the way for operators to launch services across all segments of the country’s telecoms sector, including mobile, fixed-line, Internet services and the enterprise. The strategy saw numerous fixed-line operators enter the mobile space. However, the market remains dominated by the country’s three large GSM operators, MTN, Glo Mobile and Zain (formerly Celtel), which together accounted for almost 86 percent of mobile connections in 2Q09. The next tier of mobile players comprise the CDMA-based UASL operators, Visafone, Multi-Links and Starcomms. Click here for Wireless Intelligence’s recent Snapshot analysis on the Nigerian mobile market.