The fourth largest mobile operator in Nigeria, Etisalat will be spending $300 million to expand and upgrade its network this year. The telco company has posted a 15-percent growth in user-base to 19.5 million subscribers from 15.3 million last year.
The telco’s boss Matthew Willsher said the focus of the company’s network expansion will be to offer better quality services to its growing subscribers.
Etisalat will also be rolling out its mobile broadband network to provide quality data experience to its subscribers. The company is yet to make profits despite having started operating some six years ago.
The telecom operator has sold over 2000 of its massive towers to HIS, an infrastructure sharing company. Etisalat currently has 7,000 base stations and 4,000 sites across the country.
“By the end of this year, we should have up to 5,000 sites. We have sold our passive sites to IHS,” said Temi Ogunbambi, Director – Engineering, Etisalat.
Etisalat upgraded 2,100 exiting base stations with 2G and 3G capabilities to cater to the data need of its customers.
Etisalat has built extensive metro fiber network in a number of states, in addition to the national and international fiber links.