MTN rolls out 5G in Lagos, prepares to launch in 6 other cities in the near future

The fifth generation technology, popular known as 5G, is now available in Nigeria. This was made possible by Nigeria’s telecom giant MTN at an event yesterday.

Some guests at the event had the opportunity to test the use of the technology – exploring several use cases for 5G. This follows the pilot launch of the technology by the Telecom company last month, in line with the Nigerian Communications Commission deployment guidelines.

MTN had announced the pilot launch of 5G and the company’s plans to roll out services in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri.

The telecom giant plans to expand its reach and coverage with 5G technology. Its focus is on enabling its customers to connect faster than ever before and providing high-speed Internet that makes downloads faster and digitisation smoother.

According to the MTN’s 2022 semi-annual report, a total of one hundred and twenty-seven sites have been set up for establishing the 5G technology. The company plans to have a national 5G coverage by 2025 and gradually roll out the technology thereafter.

At the launch, MTN Nigeria CEO Carl Toriola said, “Every major technological evolution changes the way we live, the way we connect; changes what is possible. GSM took phone calls on the road, 2G added texting to our experience (and created a whole new language), 3G brought the internet to our phones, and 4G made video widely available on mobiles.”

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice President Prof Umar Danbatta said: “Today, we are celebrating the outcome of the successful auction of the 5G spectrum, we are celebrating the commercial launch of 5G services in the country. This puts the country on the global 5G space and from today many of you will experience the super speed associated with 5G.”

While MTN has launched its 5G network, Mafab Communications Limited, the second teleco with a 5G license that has not implemented 5G yet. Mafab claims the NCC gave the company a five-month implementation extension due to delays in obtaining the license and the Integrated Access Service numbering plan.