Mobitel re-enters telecoms market with 4G wireless broadband service

•Promises better services, to invest $350m in two years
Ben Uzor Jr

Nigeria’s data market, characterised by slow and exasperating access to the cyberspace, will soon experience a shift for good in the area of service delivery as Mobitel Nigeria Limited, Tuesday, re-entered the nation’s telecommunications industry with a promise to further deepen Nigeria’s digital index through the provision of its latest fourth generation (4G)/WiMAX wireless broadband services.

4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards and is a successor to 3G and 2G families of standards. With this wireless broadband service that boasts of speed 10 times faster than available 3G services, Mobitel has guaranteed to provide the nation’s telecoms consumers with widespread all-IP (Internet Protocol) based services such as high quality multimedia streaming, enhanced gaming services, super fast broadband internet access, IP telephony, among other services.

Though 4G wireless technology is not yet established to have an agreed set of standards, as it is still undergoing trials and testing globally, industry analysts say the launch of the 4G/WiMAX wireless services by Mobitel could assist the industry to potentially get ahead of many markets, thus putting Nigeria on the fore rather than playing catch-up. According to some industry experts, it could also help the company gain significant market share as competition thickens in the country’s telecoms landscape.

As at today, Nigeria’s digital index stands at about 4 percent, hence, industry stakeholders who attended the launch in Lagos all agreed that the introduction of this service would radically improve quality of service as it relates to internet service delivery. In March 2010, Mobitel acquired a 2.3GHz licence from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and with this launch, becomes one of the first providers of ‘real broadband’ in Nigeria.

Johnson Salako, chief executive officer, Mobitel, who spoke to newsmen at the unveiling event, disclosed that by investing over $70 million in the roll-out of the new service, the company was ready to deliver on its value proposition of providing ‘real broadband’ to Nigerians. Salako further revealed that the company would invest $350 million in the next two years on its national roll-out plan.

“Our mission is to deliver the best customer experience in all aspects of telecommunication service delivery as Africa’s most successful 4G network,” Salako told industry stakeholders who included Ernest Ndukwe, past executive vice chairman, NCC, Ibrahim Nakande, former minister of state for communications, Dave Salako, chairman, house committee on communications, Okechukwu Itanyi, executive commissioner, NCC, Funke Opeke, chief executive officer, MainOne Cable, among others.

Giving insight into the company’s national roll-out plans, Tomi Davis, chief operating officer, Mobitel, said: “We have already started with coverage in Lagos which we expect to be fully 4G before year-end, and the rest of Nigeria can expect to see Mobitel 4G Access delivered to them next year. By the middle of 2011, 11 more cities will get 4G coverage and by 2012, full national coverage will be achieved,” noting that the firm would focus on rural telephony.

In the same vein, Michele Scanlon, chief commercial officer, Mobitel, indicated that Mobitel will be launching cutting edge devices and service packages that push the boundary, in performance terms, to deliver an enhanced experience to customers. With speeds of up to 2,048 kbps available to customers on its network, Mobitel’s 4G Access gives customers the capability to transfer large amounts of data in seconds, listen to music and watch video from internet websites comfortably.

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