IN order to extend telephony service to 40 million Nigerians living in 350 villages and communities in the country, MTN Nigeria, one of the leading telecom companies in the country, has signed a partnership agreement with Huawei, technology service provider, to deploy its latest technology to the underserved areas selected from across the country.
Mr. Ahmad Faroukh, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, said the aim of the partnership is to extend telephony service to Nigerians that have not experienced telecommunication service and have not benefited from the telecom revolution in Nigeria, and that the first project would be completed by May 2011.
Faroukh noted that the company has deemed it fit to deploy Huawei technology to about 40 million Nigerians living in remote parts of the country and in 350 villages from the six geo-political areas of the country, and that the project will take a period of nine months.
He disclosed that every three months, the technical team of Huawei and MTN would take assessment of villages and communities that need to benefit from the laudable initiative adding that when completed, the rural dwellers would have access to good quality service in terms of voice and data within the shortest possible time.
“We are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of Nigerians that have not benefited from telecommunication service and MTN Nigeria has taken up the challenge to deploy our technology through our partner, Huawei, to go to the underserved areas, and we will do this through our new model of service,” he said.
Faroukh added that the next phase of the rural telephony project would be structured to cover 500 villages and communities drawn from the different parts of Nigeria. He said the second part of the scheme would be completed by early 2012.
Similarly, Mr. Jimmy Pang, account manger for MTN, Huawei, stated that the technology, when deployed, would create access for the communities that would be covered, like the company has done in other parts of the world.
Commending the laudable initiative, Engineer Olawale Ige, a board member of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stressed that it is a significant development for the telecom company to extend network service to millions of Nigerians that do not have access to telecommunication.
Ige praised the efforts of MTN and its technical partner, Huawei, as they deploy the latest technology to improve the quality of life of Nigerians.