MTN, the South African multinational mobile telecommunications group, operating in many African and Asian countries, intends to roll out a 5G mobile Network in Nigeria this August.
Nigeria will be joining Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar and others who have already launched 5G services in Africa.
MTN Nigeria will be involved in this undertaking in partnership with Mafab Communications, according to a statement from Nigeria Communication Commission(NCC).
MTN and Mafab paid $ 273.6 Million each for the license
NCC announced this when issuing license letters to MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications- the two companies that won the 5G Spectrum Licenses auction.
MTN Nigeria has been allocated the first lot in the 3500MHz-3600MHz, being the preferred bid winner. The second bid winner was allocated 100MHz in the 3700MHz-3800MHz band.
The companies paid a total of US$273.6 million each for 100MHz of the spectrum.
Mafab communication and MTN Nigeria emerged as winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction in Nigeria after Airtel withdrew its bid.
The regulator requires the telcos to begin the rollout by August 24, 2022.
“The NCC requires collective efforts and support of the private-sector and government toward transforming every aspect of the nation’s economy through 5G, which will herald greater transformation than what the nation witnessed with the 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G,” said the Commission.
5G services have been launched in Kenya, South Africa, and other select African states.
While the service is on trial, Telcos are fast-tracking commercial launches, including in Kenya, where Safaricom plans to roll out the service before the year ends. Ethiopia has since launched 5G pilot tests in Addis Ababa with state-owned Ethio Telecoms.
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