MTN has invested over $120 million in expanding 5G coverage in Nigeria—CFO 

Kadri disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Naijaonpoint. According to him, these investments pushed up 5G coverage of the population from 3% in 2022 when it launched to 11% in 2023. 

He, however, noted that the government would need to urgently address the forex situation in the country and institute fair pricing to encourage further investments.  

While noting that telecom companies in the country are engaging with the industry regulator to make sure that the industry can price appropriately to be able to justify those continued investments, he said if that is not allowed to happen, the operators would soon be unable to invest further in infrastructure.  

5G connections in Nigeria 

According to the latest industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), 5G connections in the country increased to 2.3 million in December 2023. 

What you should know 

MTN launched the first 5G network in Nigeria in September 2022, while Airtel launched the same in June 2023. Mafab Communications, which secured the 5G licence at the same time as MTN could not roll out the service until late 2023 when it began to sell its routers. 

MTN initially rolled out its 5G service in seven cities including Lagos Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri and is currently expanding the service.  

Airtel at launch in June last year rolled out the service in four states including Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Ogun with plans to roll out in six more states within the first year of the launch.  

Mafab also launched its 5G service in Abuja with a promise that the first phase of its rollout would be in six cities across the country in fulfillment of the rollout obligations as contained in the licensing document.