Everything seems to be going well for Africa’s largest telecoms company, MTN Group, especially in Nigeria. Since getting approval for the launch of its financial services products, it has been from one commendable news to another. Recently, its shares went live on the Nigerian Exchange as investors scramble for a piece of the cake at N159 per share. Now the telecom giant has cemented this year by clinching a 5G licence in Africa’s most populous country, paving the way for the continent’s largest wireless carrier to supply faster Internet to consumers and businesses.
MTN Nigeria Communications won one of the two licences on offer at the auction on Monday, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission. The second was granted to Mafab Communications, beating Bharti Airtel’s Africa unit to it.
Both MTN Nigeria and Mafab reached the 11th auction round where the bid price was set at US$275.9-million (R4.4-billion) for each of the licence, above the $197.4-million reserve price.
Nigeria aims to deploy 5G over major urban areas of the country and become Africa’s biggest network for the spectrum by 2025, minister of communications Isa Pantami said. “This technology will go a long way in supporting our security institutions who will leverage it and ensure that we are all secure,” he said.
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MTN is Nigeria’s biggest wireless operator, while Airtel Africa, which listed in Lagos and London in 2019, vies with local operator Globacom as the country’s second biggest carrier.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry