South Africa`s MTN commenced testing its 5G technology in the nation on Wednesday, with seven Nigerian cities set to be the first to receive it when the services officially launch. The mobile service provider made this announcement in a statement to the Nigerian Exchange.
MTN 5G services will launch in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja, Maiduguri, Kano, and Owerri, though no specific launch date has been announced yet.
More than eight months have passed since the telecom company and Mafab Communications Limited won a bid for the two slots open for the launch of the spectrum services in the nation.
In the first week of May, both businesses had been granted permission to run 5G services.
According to the most recent statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission, less than half of the population of Africa’s most populous nation, which has more than 200 million people, has access to broadband (NCC).
NCC anticipates coverage to reach 70% in 2025, allowing MTN to use the new technology to reach the underserved and other telcos to take advantage of the widening gap for their gain.
Adia Sowho, MTN chief marketing officer said:
“Every major technological evolution redefines what is possible – changing the way we live and the way we connect.”
MTN 5G services will launch in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja, Maiduguri, Kano, and Owerri, though no specific launch date has been announced yet.
Higher speed and a much-reduced latency are parts of state-of-the-art attributes 5G carries including the ability to facilitate download within seconds.
MTN said customers with phones and devices that have certain features will have the leave to “connect with and try out the new service where coverage is available.”
MTN Nigeria, the local subsidiary of Johannesburg-based MTN Group, is currently the country’s biggest public company by revenue, recording a turnover of N1.7 trillion for 2021 and N950.1 billion in the first half of the year.
