A collaboration with Seplat Oil will give 5G connectivity, which will aid in the digitalisation of business processes.

Oil firms and educational institutions in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, are among the early users of MTN's 5G network deployment, which is boosting the mobile operator in its largest market.

Partnerships with Seplat Oil and Gas, as well as Huawei and Baze University in Abuja, were cited as encouraging adoption of 5G by the pan-African telecom operator.

A collaboration with Seplat will give 5G connectivity, which will aid in the digitalisation of business processes.

Also, MTN has collaborated with Huawei and Baze University to provide 5G connection across campus, which is required for education technology (EdTech).

"These are some examples of organisations from various industries that have used our 5G network to advance their operations," stated Funso Aina, senior manager for external relations at MTN Nigeria.

The executive was speaking to ITWeb Africa in an exclusive interview.

Last August, MTN Nigeria, Africa's top mobile network operator, built a 5G networks in 20 additional cities.

The South African-based mobile network provider has covered more than 80% of Nigeria's population with its 4G network and has promised to enhance its 5G network coverage.

"The innovators and early adopters have responded very well to our 5G network and to date we have received feedback that suggests that a number of our subscribers are satisfied with the performance and reliability of our 5G network across various use cases which include e-learning, work-from-home (WFH), digital entertainment, home security and surveillance, smart homes, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR), online business," Aina said.

He bemoaned the fact that some subscribers did not have 5G enabled equipment, such as compatible smartphones, preventing them from taking advantage of the improved network.

"At the individual level, one of the gaps we have identified is that some of our subscribers do not have a 5G-enabled device," Ainsa stated.

As a result, MTN has teamed with device finance services like Intelligra and M-KOPA to help Nigerians by offering the Buy Now, Pay Later option.

The operator has also worked with smartphone manufacturers Infinix, Samsung, and Tecno to create 5G-enabled devices, with the goal that these collaborations will help expand smartphone adoption in Nigeria to 60% by 2025.

"We will continue to partner with other relevant platforms and organisations to make smartphones affordable for Nigerians," Aina said.