NATCOM Consortium, the new parent company of incumbent fixed line operator Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) and its subsidiary Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited (M-Tel), has finalised plans to roll out 4G LTE services in November 2015. According to AllAfrica, operations will be provided under the NTEL banner, with the network initially covering Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, before expanding to other cities across the country. The network is now undergoing tests in preparation for the commercial launch, and subscribers are said to already be signing up for the service.
As reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in April this year Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) confirmed that NATCOM Consortium had paid the outstanding balance (70% of the USD252.52 million total bid) for the assets of NITEL and M-Tel. NATCOM, which was announced as NITEL’s preferred buyer in December 2014, is a special purpose entity set up for the acquisition, comprising a consortium of companies reportedly including NATSPACE Telecommunication Investment, Hong Kong-based telco PCCW Global, Prime Union Investment Limited, Olutoyl Estate Development & Services, Sahara Energy Resources, Legal Resources Alliance & Co and technical partner LM Ericsson Nigeria.