The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, had said MTN was ready for rollout, having the required 5G equipment on the ground.
A source close to MTN Nigeria disclosed that MTN kept to its promise by commencing the rollout of its 5G network from Lagos and Abuja, with plans to cover five cities within one month of the rollout. The cities include Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano.
Owing to the development, MTN has called on telecom subscribers to begin pre-order their 5G devices to enable them to enjoy the high-speed internet download with low latency that is associated with 5G, since not all devices can access the 5G network.
“The wonder of 5G is coming! Be among the first Nigerians to experience this incredible technology. Visit www.mtn.ng/5g-router to pre-order our 5G router now”, this was the message on MTN social media channels on Tuesday, August 23 2022, signalling that the mobile network operator has opened its portal for Nigerians to pre-order for 5G routers.
Recall that, Mafab Communications and MTN Nigeria last December won the license for the rollout of 5G service and going by the conditions of the license, the two operators were expected to roll out the service effective from today August 24, 2022.
However, while MTN is forging ahead with its plans today, Mafab has 5 more months to prepare.
The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr Reuben Muoka, who confirmed the 5-month extension given to Mafab, said that NCC decided to extend the rollout date for Mafab alone because the company does not have an operating licence to roll out a 5G network.
“The 5G licence comes with frequency licence and not operational licence. So Mafab only has a frequency licence and does not have an operational licence and it needs to apply for a telecom operational licence to enable it to roll out 5G services and other telecom services.
“The five months extension will enable Mafab to process its telecom operational licence,” Muoka said.
