TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant, MTN Nigeria, has said that its 4G services would reach 80-90 per cent of its subscribers by the end of 2022.
This was disclosed by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of MTN, Adia Sowho, this morning on Arise TV’s Global Business Report anchored by Rotus Oddiri while she was speaking about the company 5G roll-out.
Sowho said the 5G technology came with a lot of education on the benefits and how it would be well utilised for the good of the citizens.
On 4G coverage she said, “By the end of this year, we will cover 80-90 per cent of the population from MTN NIGERIA. These things take time but a lot is required in educating the users to understand why technology is being deployed, how it is useful and what benefits it offers.”
The CMO added that in the coming months, the telco would be releasing support for certain handsets to be able to use the feature.
She stressed that the launch in Nigeria is a great achievement, adding, “At the end of 2021, there were only 85 countries in the world that had launched 5G. For Nigeria to be at the forefront of the launch of such a revolutionary technology is amazing and could not have been done without the government’s support.”
She also noted that launching the 5G would help to play a big part in government support and help it meet the broadband initiative to get 70 per cent of the population covered with broadband internet.
Yesterday, MTN Nigeria kicked off an open 5G pilot with plans to roll out 5G services in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri soon.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), 5G licensees were expected to begin rollout commencement on August 24, 2022. Mafab Communications Limited, the only other telecommunication firm with a 5G licence, has since announced that it would miss out on the commission’s target.
NOTE: This report was edited to reflect that 4G and NOT 5G is expected to reach 80 – 90 per cent coverage by end of 2022.
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