MTN launches 5G network in Nigeria

MTN Nigeria has finally beat the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the launch of 5G network  in Nigeria, launching a trial of the network before the regulatory body even approved the network for mass use.

The launch of the 5G Network is in line with the telco’s decision to roll out 5G in other major cities in Nigeria before 2020. This is coming immediately after the telco successfully ran a trial of the Network in South Africa, achieving 20 Gigabyte per second (Gbps) with less than five minutes latency.

The test run of the fifth-generation cellular network by MTN is indeed the biggest achievement any telco would naturally boast of in Africa. 5G is better than 4G in a number of ways. 5G technology has 1,000-times the capacity, 100-times the connected device, 100-times the speed, 10-times reliability, and 10-times lower latency than 4G.

Earlier in 2018, MTN announced at its headquarters in South Africa, that they have begun the first 5G technology applications trial in Africa, in collaboration with network equipment provider, Ericsson.

In July last year, MTN Nigeria announced that it would begin to commercially deploy 5G technology in Nigeria before 2020. This will enable the company to provide better data services at a more affordable cost to its subscribers.

According to MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Ferdi Moolman, the rollout of 5G would enhance subscribers’ data experience.

“5G will make our life better, drive incremental capacity and open up new businesses. MTN as a company is constantly making efforts to break barriers by democratising voice and data connectivity in order to improve subscriber experience, and has invested over N800 billion in infrastructure in Nigeria.”

5G is not only important because it has the potential to support millions of devices at ultrafast speeds, but also because it has the potential to transform the lives of people around the world.

However, unresolved issues of data depletion would be a source of worry for millions of Nigerians who experienced quick data exhaustion while the network provided 4G data services. Notwithstanding, the Telco has continually promised that the increased capacity of 5G would provide data at low cost to Nigerians.