MTN Nigeria is currently making plans to bring fibre to eight million homes in the three years, as part of their plan to get people connected to the internet and offer more digital services all over the country.
The Chief of Corporate Services and Sustainability at MTN, Tobe Okigbo talked about this at a meeting with people who finished the MTN Media Innovation Programme. He said that MTN is spending a lot of money to bring fibre to peoples homes, this is not easy because they have to get permission from the government and it takes time to get their money back.
Okigbo explained that fibre broadband is different from the internet we use on our phones. With fibre, people can only pay for how fast their internet is, but not for how much they use it. He said that MTN wants to get people to use fibre broadband at home or just use their phones to access the internet.
MTN wants to be a part of that change on how people use the internet. That’s why Okigbo said that the whole telecommunications industry is moving away from voice and data services, now it is about using intelligence, 5G and smart devices to make our homes connected to the internet.
If telecommunications companies do not change with the times they will just be providing internet connections and other companies will be the ones making money from services. he said that “the future of telecoms is not about getting more people connected it is about building services and platforms that people can use with their internet connections.”
Chief of Corporate Services and Sustainability at MTN also said that their system thinks customers should be compensated when they do not get the services they paid for. However they need to know what the rules are for doing this.
He also clearly stated that bringing fibre to peoples homes is far more complex than expanding networks. This is because it involves installing cables getting permission, from local governments and planning the services carefully.
MTN Targets over 7M Homes in Fibre Expansion Drive
