MTN expands in Nigeria and Rwanda, battles outages in Sudan and Cameroon

Pan-African operator MTN has been making the news in different African countries for good and sometimes not-so-good reasons in recent times.

During MTN Group's 2022 integrated report last week, the telco announced that it would be launching its own 4G mobile network in Rwanda by the end of June.

That announcement comes after the Rwandan government said it wanted to remove the exclusivity held by Korea Telecom Rwanda Networks (KTRN) since 2013 in the 4G infrastructure market.

The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) said it was modifying KTRN's license to allow other companies to deploy standalone 4G networks under revised technology-neutral permits.

MTN said the revision to its license is expected to be complete in May 2023 with its first 4G sites to go live by the end of the current quarter.

Currently, MTN, Airtel and other Rwandan operators use the KTRN network on a wholesale basis.

MTN Nigeria expands 5G

In the West African country of Nigeria, MTN said it aims to cover 10% of the country's population with its fifth-generation (5G) mobile network by the end of the year.

MTN further said it plans to accelerate investments in the deployment of 5G sites, to improve on its previous launch of 5G in seven cities namely Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri in September 2022.

Moreover, by the end of 2022, the telco had deployed 588 5G sites in Nigeria's major cities and aims to cover the whole territory by 2025.

MTN Cameroon fast tracks investment plan

In response to recent protests in Cameroon over quality of service, MTN said it is fast-tracking the implementation of its 2023 network investment plan.

The company said it is committed to improving users' experience following widespread complaints and protests over the quality of service in the country.

To express their displeasure with services rendered by telcos in Cameroon, subscribers switched their devices to "Flight Mode," claiming they had been experiencing prolonged network disruptions in April 2023.

To remedy the situation, the Cameroonian government ordered Camtel, MTN and Orange to fix mobile services.

The MTN Group has been battling network outages in Sudan, and subscriber protests in Cameroon. (Source: MTN Group)

According to MTN Cameroon CEO Mitwa Ng'ambi, the telco is accelerating the implementation of its network investment plan.

"Over the last couple of weeks, we have listened diligently to the feedback you have provided us and we take it seriously. We strive to be at our best because you deserve only the best," she said.

The 2023 network investment plan by MTN is also happening at a time when the telco has signed a collaboration framework agreement with the Rural Electrification Agency (AER) to supply its rural mobile sites with solar energy.

MTN Sudan working on restoring network

Amid the conflict in Sudan, last Friday, the telco announced that it experienced a network shutdown after fighting in the country led to fuel shortages and power cuts.

The network outage comes at a time the country is experiencing massive civil unrest due to fighting between military and paramilitary forces.

"The company fully understands the impact this may have on communication needs and extends its apologies for any inconvenience experienced during this challenging time," the telco said in a statement.

*Top image source: warrenski on Flickr CC 2.0

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa