For being the first mobile network operator (MNO) in West Africa to commercially roll out Fifth Generation (5G) technology mobile service in seven Nigerian cities, offering the fastest speeds for voice, data and video to its customers, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc is the LEADERSHIP ICT/Telecom Company of the Year 2022
On December 13, 2021, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, the biggest mobile operator in Nigeria and West Africa, as well as the largest subsidiary in the MTN Group, was among the two licencees that won the 3.5 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum for the deployment of 5G technology to support the delivery of ubiquitous broadband services in Nigeria following a transparent auction for the sale.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had on May 4, 2022, issued the final letter of award of the 5G Spectrum Licence to MTN following the full payment of $273.6million to the federal government.
On August 25, 2022, MTN Nigeria became the first network to commence 5G rollout in selected cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri and Maiduguri, using intelligence to identify the location where there is the need for the 5G and where there is a use case for it.
According to a GSMA Intelligence report, the spectrum issued to MTN Nigeria as one of the two successful winners of the 5G licence bid holds a promising future for technology in Nigeria, and it is projected to contribute $2.2trillion to the global economy by 2034.
The implementation of 5G will accelerate the actualisation of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, as well as other sectoral policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation.
MTN is currently providing 5G coverage to customers based on the current usage and the concentration of the 5G-enabled devices in different locations. Customers are able to access 5G via the use of 5G-enabled handsets, and via the fixed wireless access modems (5G routers) for home use.
In addition to the bandwidth increase for seamless video streaming or the next social application playground, 5G technology supports real-time, ultra-reliable communication between massive numbers of devices, allows for real-time communication and improves data transfer, especially upstream speeds.
Following the allocation of $1.5billion for network investment and upgrade for three years, MTN Nigeria said its 5G technology will allow consumers to have 10 times user experience throughout, 10 times connection density, 10 times decrease in latency, three times spectrum efficiency, 100 times traffic capacity and 100 times network efficiency.
MTN’s 5G is going to transform Nigeria with use cases such as AI, AR, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Gaming etc., which are on the consumer side, with the youthful population. 5G for business-to-business (B2B) applications will be a catalyst for driverless cars, in mining, efficiency in manufacturing, shipping, ports, transportation, agriculture and logistics operations. 5G will accelerate the industrial development and educational development of Nigeria.
Going forward, MTN is using the international standard forecast of the 5G spread in locations using a mix of business intelligence, analysis, and artificial intelligence that would allow it to make smart Capex investment, to locate the area where the future requirement in 5G would come from.
With this launch, leveraging the largest spectrum dedicated to 5G in Africa, Nigeria has joined a few African countries that have rolled out the 5G network. With a mobile subscriber base of 74.1 million as of the end of third quarter 2022, MTN Nigeria has rolled out 218 5G sites, providing coverage in seven key cities across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria in line with the coverage obligations.
It plans to deliver up to 600 5G sites by the end of 2022, extending its coverage to more cities in the country, deepening coverage capacity and penetration in the cities. MTN’s 5G network puts Nigeria at the forefront of delivering technological advancement in this country.
MTN Nigeria provides network coverage to 88.8 per cent of Nigeria’s land mass, while 86.2 per cent of the population has access to its services. It is no doubt delivering a bold, new digital world to the Nigerian market.
