MTN Nigeria to invest $1.5 bln to expand broadband over three years

ABUJA: MTN Nigeria plans to invest 600 billion naira ($1.5 billion) over the next three years to expand broadband access in Africa’s most populous country, its chief executive said on Monday.

“Operationally, our mobile subscribers closed H1 at 68.9 million, down 9.9% from December 2020. This was due to the regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations, which was lifted on 19 April 2021,” MTN Nigeria’s CEO Karl Toriola said on an analyst call.

Toriola said the telecoms company was boosting its 4G coverage and providing home broadband as part of a rural connectivity programme. MTN said it plans to connect around 1,000 rural communities to its network this year and extra 2,000 communities next year.