Smile Communications has launched its 4G/LTE network on 800 MHz spectrum in Lagos, Nigeria after launching it in Ibadan, a year earlier.
The February 2014, commercial launch in Lagos, makes it the first to launch 4G/ LTE technology in West Africa, promising improved mobile broadband experience using an Ericsson LTE radio network.
According to Tom Allen, Smile Group Chief Operating Officer: “At Smile Communications, we seek to deliver affordable, high-quality and easy-to-use broadband internet access and communications services to our customers and in Nigeria, Ericsson is helping us do this. With successful commercial operations since 2013, we are very excited to formally announce today the commencement of our services and the beginning of a cross-country roll-out. We are starting in Lagos and will lay our footprints in other major cities across the country shortly.
Smile Communications and Ericsson have a 3-year network deployment agreement to develop over 1,100 LTE sites across the country. Under the terms of this agreement, Ericsson is responsible for the project management, system integration, interoperability testing, network design and implementation.
“With mobile data traffic estimated to grow 17 times by 2019 and Nigeria currently holding the highest number of mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa, superior network performance is imperative,” said Magnus Mchunguzi, Vice President, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa. ” As a global HSPA and LTE leader, we are committed to partnering with Smile Communications in meeting this growing demand for enriched broadband experience.”
With over 50 percent of the world’s LTE smartphone traffic, Ericsson is the market leader in LTE and is present in all high-traffic LTE markets including the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada, Ericsson has been selected by the top 10 LTE operators, as ranked by LTE subscriptions worldwide.