In a historic moment for Nigerian telecommunications, MTN Nigeria last week officially activated its fifth generation (5G) mobile internet services at 190 sites across the country, with the main concentration of sites in Lagos and Abuja.
Some users in these areas are already experiencing internet speeds in excess of 1,4GB per second. The country's National Communications Commission (NCC) had previously set Wednesday, August 24 as the date for the launch of 5G after almost 3 years of preparation by the federal government.
Nigeria now joins South Africa and Kenya as the three African nations that have launched 5G services. South Africa got 5G first in 2019 through a humble launch by the provider Rain, while Kenya saw Safaricom launch its first 5G services in March 2021. In the rest of the continent, Ghana and Egypt are close behind these three nations, expecting a release sooner or later.
5G deployment in Nigeria has lagged behind contemporary economies due to bloated spectrum auction regulations and approval processes. As of July 2021, Nigerians were still waiting for the federal government to approve the technology's deployment, even when the NCC claimed it was ready for launch.
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Approval finally came in September. The NCC held its first 5G spectrum auction in December 2021, where MTN and Mafab Communications were awarded licenses.
While MTN was able to roll out its 5G on schedule, Mafab was given a five-month extension for the country's 5G rollout. Both MTN and Mafab had to pay US$550 million for licenses as early as February.
By October, MTN Nigeria expects to exponentially increase the rollout of 5G sites, bringing super-fast internet to an additional 500-600 sites across Africa's most populous country.
Not every user will be able to use 5G, as certain software updates are required by mobile devices, other devices may not be able to use the service.
Nigerian users of Samsung and Apple will only be able to enjoy 5G services after 6 weeks (Samsung) or even after October (Apple) as manufacturers will need to deliver their respective updates.
