The network will allow users an improved smartphone experience, as well as faster upload and download speeds.
“At Smile Communications we seek to deliver affordable, high-quality and easy-to-use broadband internet access and communications services to our customers and in Nigeria, Ericsson is helping us to do this,” said Tom Allen, group COO at Smile.
“With successful commercial operations since 2013, we are very excited to formally announce today the commencement of our services and the beginning of a cross-country roll-out,” he added.
The deployment has been initially launched in Lagos, and Allen said that Smile will begin expanding the service in other major cities across Nigeria in the coming months.
The network runs on 800MHz spectrum and Smile claims it is the first operator to launch LTE technology in west Africa.
“With mobile traffic estimated to grow 17 times by 2019 and Nigeria currently holding the highest number of mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa, superior network performance is imperative,” said Magnus Mchunguzi, VP at Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa.
“As a global HSPA and LTE leader, we are committed to partnering with Smile Communications in meeting this growing demand for enriched broadband experience,” he explained.
Last month, Ericsson signed a managed services agreement with MTN Nigeria.
