Nigeria’s newest telecom operator, MAFAB Communications, has launched its 5G network services for Nigerians. The launch ceremony took place in Abuja on Tuesday, January 24, and in Lagos on Thursday, January 26, 2023. This announcement comes five months after MTN launched its 5G network in August 2022 and MAFAB received a five-month extension. for its 5G network deployment by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The event also served as the unveiling event for their new logo and brand name: Mcom. It is important to note that these events were not the commercial launch, as potential users are not yet able to access or experience MCom’s 5G services. The company shared that the date for its commercial launch will be announced soon.
“As the second operator to launch 5G in Nigeria, Mcom expects greater coverage for Nigerians and acceleration of broadband services,” Dr. Musbahu Bashir, MAFAB’s president and founder, said at the event in Lagos.
He shared that the rollout will start in six cities: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna. The schedule for rollout to other cities will be shared at a later time.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by state science and technology commissioner Hakeem Fahm, applauded MAFAB for the launch of 5G.
“I am now very optimistic that we will achieve resounding success because of the opportunity presented by the MAFAB 5G network,” Sanwo-Olu said.
MAFAB Communications Limited was registered on July 8, 2020, according to the company’s website and TechCabal’s findings on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) site. It claims to provide and operate local interconnection and international carrier services; there is no information about customers on their website.
The company is led by Musbahu Muhammad Bashir, Chairman of the Althani Group, an Abuja-based holding company that oversees a group of companies including Eman Homes & Estate, Althani Investment Limited, Salam Takaful Insurance and MAFAB Communications.
5G is all about data
During the launch event, Adebayo Onigbanjo, corporate communications manager, explained that the company, which would not be offering any 2G, 3G or 4G services, would focus on providing data starting with the fixed wireless access market. A strategy that correlates with the fact that consumer spending on data will soon exceed that of voice service.
To achieve this deployment, the company shared that it will be based on partnering and sharing the existing telecommunications infrastructure to achieve national coverage, although it did not reveal how much investment it has made in physical infrastructure. For its voice service, Mcom would take advantage of the national roaming strategy to guarantee voice services in all cities.
