The Nigerian Communications Commission has sold 4G and 5G spectrum to Airtel Africa's Nigerian subsidiary, Airtel Networks Ltd. (NCC).
The spectrum, according to the advertisement, was valued at 316.7 million Naira ($USD).
This information was provided in a corporate disclosure that the communication provider made public to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Monday.
The new spectrum will help Airtel Africa's investments in network growth for mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capacity, including the implementation of 5G, the company claims.
It said that the spectrum would offer sufficient capacity to support the country's ongoing robust data growth and superior customer experience.
The largest market for Airtel in Africa, Nigeria, has considerable development potential.
“The company led the industry in providing affordable 4G services across the country, following the deployment of a fully modernized network which facilitated a 4-fold increase in data traffic over the last three years.
“The penetration of data customers in Nigeria remains low, providing significant opportunity for future growth.
“The acquisition of 5G spectrum will underpin our growth strategy by enabling the launch of higher speed connectivity to enhance customer service and accelerate digitalization for consumers, enterprises and the public sector.”
The telecommunications provider also said that key benefits of 5G would include higher speeds, lower latency, significant network capacity as well as an improved user experience.
“Furthermore, the deployment of 5G will accelerate the availability
and efficiency of fixed wireless access products across the country, contributing toward Airtel Nigeria’s progress in meeting the National Broadband Plan targets.
“The acquisition of 2600MHz spectrum will complement our already strong spectrum position in the market to enhance network capacity and future-proof our growth opportunity,” it added.
Commenting on the development, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Airtel Africa, said Nigeria remained a market with enormous potential for future growth in mobile services.
“Investments in new technologies and local infrastructure to enable this growth is a strategic priority for the group and will ensure we are able to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country.
“5G is critical to these ambitions, and we look forward to launching new services to drive further digitalisation across the country, facilitate economic progress and transform lives across Nigeria,” he said.
(NAN)
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