MTN Nigeria said it has acquired additional 10MHz spectrum in the 800MHz band from Intercellular Nigeria Limited for an undisclosed amount.
In a statement, which was made available to eBusiness Life on Friday, the company said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved the transaction and assigned the frequency to it. The acquisition is expected to significantly improve customer experience, in line with the telco’s commitment to deliver excellent service quality to its subscribers.
Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said, “Through this acquisition, we will be better positioned to support the deepening of broadband penetration in the country. The added resources will also greatly impact our customers’ experience providing even better internet connectivity. It is our goal to keep finding ways to grant everyone access to a modern connected life.”
It would be recalled that in the year ended December 2020, the MTN Nigeria’s active data subscribers increased by 7.4 million to 36.3 million, which the company said was supported by growth in gross connections and the expansion of its 4G network in the country.
MTN Nigeria said its data traffic rose by 126.5% during 2020, and average usage was up 64%. Data revenue also rose by 51.2% for the year. Overall, MTN has 76.5 million subscribers in Nigeria, with over 12 million new customers added last year.
The telco focused on growing its 4G footprint in Nigeria and said its 4G network now covers 60% of the country, up from 43.8% in 2019.
In addition, MTN Nigeria put out strong results for the year ended December 31, 2020, with service revenue growing by 14.7% for the year to 1.3 trillion Naira (US$3.4 billion) while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 9.7% to N685.7 billion ($1.8 billion).
