A closed user group turns calls between your own lines into ₦0.50 a minute — fourteen times cheaper than the best consumer tariff in Nigeria. The cheapest approved CUG bundle is T2’s SME Combo Value: ₦500 a line for 1,000 in-group minutes a month. Glo’s cheapest is CUG 1500, at ₦1,500 for 2,500 minutes. Only Glo and T2 file CUG bundles with the NCC; MTN and Airtel sell discounted per-minute corporate plans instead. Figures from the NCC filing of 17 July 2026.
Cheapest closed user group for your team
Say how many lines you run and how much each one talks inside the group. We price every approved CUG bundle, and compare it against paying per minute.
CUG minutes only work between lines inside the group. Calls to any number outside it bill at your normal tariff rate, so budget for those separately. A line can sit on a CUG bundle and a consumer tariff plan at the same time.
Every approved CUG and SME bundle
Ranked by cost per in-group minute.
| Network | Bundle | Monthly rental | In-group minutes | Texts | Cost per minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2 | SME Combo Value | ₦500 | 1,000 | — | ₦0.50 |
| T2 | SME Basic | ₦500 | 900 | — | ₦0.56 |
| T2 | SME Combo Premier | ₦800 | 1,395 | — | ₦0.57 |
| T2 | SME Premium | ₦1,000 | 1,700 | 60 | ₦0.59 |
| T2 | SME Black | ₦1,000 | 1,676 | — | ₦0.60 |
| Glo | CUG 1000 (60k) | ₦1,000 | 1,667 | — | ₦0.60 |
| Glo | CUG 600 (60k) | ₦600 | 1,000 | — | ₦0.60 |
| Glo | CUG 1500 (60k) | ₦1,500 | 2,500 | — | ₦0.60 |
| Glo | CUG 500 (60k) | ₦500 | 833 | — | ₦0.60 |
| Glo | CUG 1000 (60k) + SMS | ₦1,000 | 1,367 | 150 | ₦0.73 |
| Glo | CUG 500 (75k) | ₦500 | 667 | — | ₦0.75 |
| Glo | CUG 800 (75k) | ₦800 | 1,067 | — | ₦0.75 |
| Glo | CUG 600 (75k) | ₦600 | 800 | — | ₦0.75 |
| Glo | CUG 1500 (75k) | ₦1,500 | 2,000 | — | ₦0.75 |
| Glo | CUG 1000 (75k) | ₦1,000 | 1,333 | — | ₦0.75 |
| Glo | CUG 700 (75k) | ₦700 | 933 | — | ₦0.75 |
| T2 | SME Complete | ₦900 | 1,000 | 100 | ₦0.90 |
| Glo | CUG 1000 (75k) + SMS | ₦1,000 | 1,040 | 150 | ₦0.96 |
| T2 | SME Compact | ₦500 | 500 | — | ₦1.00 |
What a Closed User Group Actually Is
A CUG is a list of numbers on one network that call each other at a flat monthly rental instead of per minute. Staff on the list talk to each other almost free. Calls to anyone outside the list — customers, suppliers, family — bill at the line’s normal tariff rate.
That is the whole trick, and it is also the whole limitation. A CUG is only worth buying if a real share of your calling happens inside the group: a dispatch team, a shop with drivers, a clinic with branch offices, a campus department.
The Rate Gap
| How you call | Cost per minute |
|---|---|
| T2 SME Combo Value (CUG) | ₦0.50 |
| T2 SME Basic (CUG) | ₦0.56 |
| Glo CUG 1500, 60k tier | ₦0.60 |
| Airtel Corporate Airtime Share (per minute) | ₦6.60 |
| MTN E-Value Plus (per minute) | ₦8.40–₦9.90 |
| Cheapest consumer plan (Glo Flat 1 / T2 Sabi Talk) | ₦7.20 |
A ten-line team talking 800 in-group minutes each costs about ₦5,000 a month on T2 SME Combo Value. The same traffic on the cheapest consumer tariff is roughly ₦57,600.
Only Two Networks File CUG Bundles
Glo files twelve CUG bundles, from ₦500 to ₦1,500 a month. The tiers are labelled 60k and 75k, which is the per-second rate used to convert the rental into minutes — the 60k tier always gives more minutes for the same money, so take it where you are offered both.
T2 (9mobile) files seven SME bundles from ₦500 to ₦1,000. Three of them include SMS: SME Premium adds 60 texts, SME Complete adds 100.
MTN and Airtel file no CUG bundles. They sell corporate plans with a discounted per-minute rate instead, which suits a team whose calls mostly go outward rather than inward.
Corporate Per-Minute Plans
| Network | Plan | Rate | Monthly rental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel | Corporate Airtime Share | ₦6.60–₦6.62 | ₦500–₦1,000 shares |
| MTN | E-Value Plus | ₦8.40–₦9.90 | — |
| Airtel | Fixed Voice Pro | ₦9.00 | — |
| Glo | Glo Biz | ₦9.00–₦12.60 | ₦500–₦1,000 |
| MTN | Connect More | ₦9.00–₦10.80 | — |
| MTN | BizConnect | ₦11.10 | — |
| MTN | BizPlus | ₦11.70 | — |
| Glo | Glo Prime | ₦10.80–₦12.60 | ₦1,000–₦10,000 |
| MTN | Thryve | ₦13.20 | — |
The ranges are real: the rate you get depends on committed volume, and the filing approves the whole band. Treat the low end as what a large account negotiates and the high end as what a small one pays.
The Rental Trap on Glo
Every Glo corporate plan carries the same condition in its filing: if the monthly rental is not paid, calls bill at ₦18 a minute. That is above Glo’s most expensive consumer plan. A lapsed rental on a twenty-line account is an expensive month.
Set the rental to pay automatically, and check it each month. T2’s SME bundles and MTN’s corporate plans carry no equivalent reversion clause in the filing.
How to Set One Up
CUG and SME bundles are not sold through the ordinary USSD menus. You register the group through the operator’s business arm:
- Glo: any Glo business office, or the corporate desk on 121.
- T2: a T2 experience centre, or care@t2mobile.com.ng.
- MTN and Airtel: their enterprise sales desks, since the corporate rate is negotiated rather than listed.
Expect to provide CAC registration and a list of the numbers going into the group. Lines usually have to be on the same network and, for the SME tiers, registered to the business rather than to individuals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest CUG plan in Nigeria?
T2’s SME Combo Value at ₦500 a line for 1,000 in-group minutes a month, which works out at ₦0.50 a minute. Glo’s best rate is ₦0.60 a minute on CUG 1500 at the 60k tier.
Do CUG minutes work for calls outside the group?
No. They only cover calls between lines registered in the group. Everything else bills at the line’s normal tariff rate, so budget for outside calls separately.
Can MTN or Airtel do a CUG?
Neither files a CUG bundle with the NCC. Both sell corporate plans with discounted per-minute rates — Airtel’s Corporate Airtime Share is the cheapest approved corporate rate on any network at ₦6.60 a minute.
How many lines do I need for a CUG?
Operators set their own minimums and do not publish them. The arithmetic starts working from a handful of lines, because the saving is per line and the rental is per line.
Can a line have a CUG bundle and a normal tariff plan?
Yes. The CUG bundle covers in-group calls; the tariff plan covers everything else. Pick the tariff plan the same way you would for a personal line.
What happens if I do not pay the rental?
On every Glo corporate plan, calls revert to ₦18 a minute until the rental is settled. That is more than any Glo consumer plan charges.
Read also:
Cheapest call rates in Nigeria: MTN vs Glo vs Airtel vs T2
Cheapest data plans in Nigeria compared
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