South Africa headquartered MTN Group was the first telecommunications provider to roll out 5G in Nigeria with Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ibadan, Maiduguri and Owerri all benefiting from its Nigerian subsidiaries network upgrade. Coverage rose from 3% in 2022 to 11% in 2023.
MTN’s CFO Modupe Kadri highlighted that the expansion has faced some setbacks including forex challenges as well as industry regulation and pricing.
“Last year, we increased our population coverage of 5G from 3% to 11%. That investment alone is worth $120 million. We made those investments because that’s what is required to build resilience or to carry the sort of traffic that we can see on our network," he said in an interview with Nairametrics.
In a meeting last year with the new Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, the chairman of MTN, Mcebisi Jonas, committed to investing $3.5 billion over the next five years in its Nigerian operations and to mobilising other investors in the economy.
Jonas said: “Our visit served as an opportunity to reinforce our long-term commitment to Nigeria and our belief in the immense potential of the emerging digital economy.
“The principle of shared value is a fundamental pillar of our Ambition 2025 strategy, which we are actively implementing in Nigeria.
"Whether through expanding local ownership via retail participation in our domestic listing, our renewed focus on local content, promoting access to connectivity and financial services in rural areas, or deploying innovative technology platforms, we are continuously innovating to ensure a more inclusive digital landscape.”
MTN is working with Ericsson to modernise and upgrade the core network in a five-year partnership to enable 5G standalone in the future. The modernised core networks will be powered by Ericsson's cloud-native dual mode 5G Core.
Mazen Mroué, MTN group chief technology and information officer says: “This collaboration is a key milestone for our Ambition 2025 to set new benchmarks in connectivity excellence, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver superior customer experiences and innovation.”
Hossam Kandeel, who serves as vice president and head of global customer unit MTN and customer unit MTN Africa at Ericsson Middle East and Africa said: “Our partnership with MTN Group is based on innovation and driving networks evolution for customer experience and business value.
"Together, we are shaping the future of digital connectivity in Africa with the modernisation of MTN Nigeria and MTN South Africa’s core networks. We aim to drive this technological advancement in line with Ericsson’s #AfricaInMotion vision.”
Previously MTN said it would begin decommissioning its 3G network in 2025/26. The number of 5G users is estimated to reach the 11 million mark by 2025.
