MTN Nigeria 4G Data Traffic Hits 79.5% as Coverage Rises to 79.1%

…rolls out 588 5G Sites in Nigeria

MTN Nigeria has revealed its 4G data traffic now constitutes 79.5% of the total traffic on their network in 2022.

The telecom company stated that its 4G data traffic rose by 9.7% as its 4G coverage in Nigeria increased to 79.1% in the same period under review.

This disclosure was made by the telco Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, in the firm’s financial year report, which ended December 31, 2022, who noted that the company accelerated the coverage and capacity of its 4G network in response to the rising data traffic.

According to him, MTN active data subscribers grew by 5.2 million and they benefitted from their efforts to drive data conversion in new and existing subscribers.

Toriola also that MTN Nigeria being the first mobile network operator to launch the fifth generation (5G) network in the country, it rolled out a total number of 588 sites to provide 5G coverage in key cities in the six geopolitical regions of Nigeria.

“We continued to manage and invest in the resilience of our business and networks, expanding coverage and capacity with a focus on expense efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation.

“We became the first mobile network operator to launch a 5G network in Nigeria, providing coverage in key cities in the six geopolitical regions. Since its commercial launch in September 2022, we have rolled out 588 sites and brought the 5G network to 5G-enabled smartphones, starting with iPhone users.
Our broadband coverage at the end of 2022 was 87.9%, up by 3.4%.”

“2022 was challenging due to global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, resulting in higher inflation, supply chain uncertainties, foreign exchange volatility and availability.

“Our mobile subscriber net addition was 7.2 million for the year, representing a good recovery from the impact of an increase in churn in Q3 2022 and demonstrating the effectiveness of our churn management initiatives and interventions to ramp up gross connections.

“We continued to progress in building our fintech ecosystem and executing its growth strategy with the commercial launch of our MoMo PSB in May 2022. Our active fintech users rose by 5.5 million to 14.9 million, of which approximately 2 million are active MoMo wallets. As planned, we reopened the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) interface in Q4 temporarily suspended to enhance control systems, starting with inbound transfers into customer wallets.

“We are in the final phase of onboarding deposit money banks. The outbound phase will be completed in Q1 2023, accelerating full commercial activities and the growth of active wallets. Our strong commercial momentum, supported by an accelerated investment in our network, enabled growth across all revenue lines. As a result, we recorded a 21.5% increase in service revenue, above the average inflation rate and in line with our medium-term growth guidance” Toriola disclosed in the financial statement.