Another Nigerian company rolls out 4G-LTE service
Olubode Olusesan / 11 hours ago

Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu
Ozioma Ubabukoh

Another telecommunications firm in the country, InterC Network, has rolled out the 4G Long-Term Evolution service.

The first to do so was ntel, the company that bought off Nigeria Telecommunications Company.

At the unveiling in Lagos, the company spelt out its brand promise and determination to give Internet users a better experience in Nigeria.

In the first phase of its operation, the services are now commercially available in three cities: Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, while preparation is ongoing to extend to other markets.

The unveiling of the network also coincided with the formal announcement of the transformation of Intercellular Nigeria Limited, a provider of fixed and mobile services using Code Division Multiple Access technology to InterC Network.

The Chief Executive Officer, Emad Sukker, said the company’s re-entry into the market would be phased, starting with three key cities, with later expansions to six other cities during the first full year of commercial operation.

He said, “This formal launch marks the inauguration of our first set of services – extraordinary high-speed data services – through the deployment of 800MHz spectrum band 20, one of the frequency bandwidths assigned us by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“I am proud to state that our excellent and affordable data packages, which will be announced subsequently, will serve as the standard bearer for our subsequent product and service rollouts.”

Speaking on the determination of the company to become a leading telecoms company, actively promoting the expansion of broadband services in Nigeria by enabling their customers to live better-connected lives, Sukker attributed the current achievement to the forthrightness and foresight of the company’s board of directors.

“The modest journey to where we are today began when our Board of Directors gave us the nod to redirect the business in a way that would make it become a major provider of telecommunications solutions in the country.

“Through hard work and commitment of our team, unwavering support and encouragement of the Board of Directors, we are on the precipice of achieving this milestone. I would like to express my deep gratitude to our team members and the directors for believing in us that we could make this happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the world tilting towards more data usage, the company’s CEO stated that the company is determined to achieve one million mark in the next couple of months with the latest technology, the Long term evolution 4G(LTE).

He admitted that telecommunications service was a serious business, saying that InterC had the assets to unlock and operate a full-scale telecoms operation.

“We have phased out CDMA technology completely; what we are offering is LTE /4G and not GSM technology. And this is not to undermine the GSM technology. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission statistics, the country has 149 million active subscribers, yet some areas are still underserved.

“There is still room for market share in the economy. There are some hiccups, but it doesn’t undermine the strength of the economy. But with wise strategy, we can overcome and we have come to make profit in naira and not dollar.

“There are plans to expand the broadband portfolio. Expansion is not our problem because our technical partner, Huawei, is always ready for infrastructural expansion.”

Source: punchng