Dormant Nigerian incumbent Nitel is preparing to relaunch services under the brand name Ntel. The telco plans to launch a new 4G LTE mobile network in three of the country’s largest cities – Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt – initially and aims to cover 85% of mobile broadband spending within three years.
Dormant Nigerian incumbent Nitel is preparing to relaunch services under the brand name Ntel.
Ntel plans to launch a new 4G LTE mobile network in three of the country’s largest cities – Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt – the company said on its website. It did not specify a launch date, but local media have put it at 8 April.
The company, which is inviting prospective customers to reserve numbers, said that additional cities will be served over time and that it aims to cover 85% of mobile broadband spending within three years and some 95% within five years.
The telco said its network will provide high-speed internet access, expected to be the fastest in Nigeria, and voice-over-LTE, SMS and video services.
Ntel CEO Kamar Abass was cited in local media saying that the company has the go-ahead from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). He reportedly added that Natcom, the parent company of Ntel, has projected over US$1bn investments over the next four years.
Ntel has already deployed about 600 base transceiver stations (BTSs) in the two cities and plans to roll out a further 2,000, Abass noted. In addition, it has laid 200km of fibre optic cables in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Ntel said will use 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz airwaves to launch services. It said it made its first on-net test data call in Lagos on 18 January 2016 and first VoLTE call in Lagos on 25 February.
“These events are significant because they signal the beginning of a new phase in Nigeria’s telecoms industry with Ntel building on foundations established by Nitel/Mtel but using new technology that is the most advanced available to telecommunications operators, globally,” the company said.
Nigeria completed the privatisation of Nitel and its mobile arm Mtel in April 2015, when Natcom Consortium closed its US$253m takeover. This followed a guided liquidation process supervised and approved by Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises and a High Court-appointed liquidator.
Natcom committed to making Nitel and Mtel, which had been crushed by debt, operational again within three years.
Natcom reportedly comprises Natspace Telecommunication Investment, Hong Kong’s PCCW, Prime Union Investment, Olutoyl Estate Development & Services, Sahara Energy Resources, Legal Resources Alliance & Co, plus technical partner Ericsson Nigeria.
South Africa-based MTN is the country’s leading GSM operator with a 41% market share as of January 2016, according to NCC figures. Airtel and Globacom each have a 22% share, while the smallest player, Etisalat, has a 15% share.