MTN Nigeria Communications Plc in a buildup to the commercial launch of 5G mobile network has on Wednesday released a 5G pilot to test the next-generation network infrastructure.
Driving the news
The telecom giant which plans to launch the service in seven Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri and Maiduguri, disclosed that MTN customers can access the network through specific enabled devices.
- Before the official launch event in the next few weeks, MTN customers can enjoy the 5G network and its benefits through enabled devices, including routers and 5G enabled mobile phones.
In case you missed it
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) scheduled August 24th for the launch of 5G service in Nigeria. While MTN Nigeria, one of the two telecommunications companies with license to operate the fifth generation in Nigeria, had earlier announced its readiness to launch the service, Mafab Communications, the second licensed company, has got a five-month extension till January 2023.
What you should know
MTN’s 5G service offers data speed 100 times faster than 4G and lower latency (the delay between instruction for a data transfer and its actual transfer). This implies that the 5G network promises faster downloads, much lower lag time, and transmitting of data faster and accurately.
The 5G network service also supports about one million connected devices per square kilometer, much more than 4G’s 100,000 devices per square kilometer.
The implementation of 5G by the licensed mobile networks would speed up the actualization of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan of increasing broadband penetration to 70% by 2025.