Competition as MTN launches 4G LTE …Saraki commends MTN’s innovativeness

The country’s quest to achieve 30 percent national broadband penetration by 2018 received major boost with the formal launch, Thursday, of MTN’s 4G LTE service.

The event, held in Abuja, was attended by several stakeholders including the Senate Committee Chairman on Communication, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, who represented the Senate president.

With the launch of the service, the MTN subscribers can now enjoy optimised wireless 4G broadband and high-speed browsing experience which is the fastest and most futuristic mobile internet access available in Nigeria today, according to the company.

According to the CEO of MTN, Ferdi Moolman, who was represented by MTN’s chief operating officer, Mohammed Siddiqui, the deployment of MTN 4G LTE would enhance browsing experience across Nigeria and accelerate achievement of the country’s targeted broadband penetration by 2018.

“We are excited to officially rollout MTN 4G LTE services to our esteemed customers” he said. “By leveraging on our network, it promises to be the widest LTE coverage in Nigeria. With the acquisition of the 2.6GHZ spectrum earlier this year, our objective was clear: to build capacity to accommodate 4G LTE for the benefit of Nigerians because it is the fastest wireless internet connection available today. In fulfilling that objective, we have embarked on aggressive optimisation of our sites to beef up our capacity for 4G LTE.”

Speaking at the event, senator Nnaji commended the MTN for investing in LTE and supporting the federal government’s drive to deepen broadband penetration in the country.

He said: “It is commendable that MTN continues to demonstrate that it is building its business in Nigeria based on sustainability in the long term. The MTN 4G LTE roll-out is a case in point and going by the potential of broadband to develop the economy, this underscores the premium the company has placed on innovation which contributes to socio-economic development now and in the future.”

The Corporate Services Executive of the MTN, Amina Oyagbola, who stated that MTN’s 4G LTE service was available in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt, announced that plans were underway to expand the 4G LTE service to other parts of the country. She called on subscribers to visit the nearest MTN customer service centre in the three cities to upgrade their SIMs to U-SIMs to enable them enjoy the 4G service. She added that switching to the 4G LTE service would not attract additional tariffs for subscribers.