Background

As part of its transformation agenda, the Nigerian government committed to accelerating economic growth in rural areas, where citizens comprise 50% of the country’s population, and access to energy is limited. MTN Nigeria set itself a target of reducing diesel dependency by over 50% by 2020, while increasing urban and rural mobile communication coverage in a country where over 30 million people have little or no access to telephony services.

MTN Nigeria recognised that it could deepen its service offering while helping the government realise its objectives, and helping communities benefit from a reliable source of low carbon energy. MTN undertook to provide telecommunication access and services to 850 villages across Nigeria in partnership with its supplier. Phase 1 targeted building 280 base transceiver sites to support the telecommunication needs of 350 villages. In addition to implementing network sites using an architecting methodology called fully meshed satellite networks (which reduces the need to ‘hop’ across connection points or networks at the last mile, thereby reducing communication costs) and thereby saving costs and improves quality of voice calls, solar and hybrid solutions displaced the traditional use of diesel to provide power.

• Phase 1 complete: 250 hybrid solar powered BTS sites ensuring telecommunications connectivity to 308 villages

• OPEX savings from reduced maintenance, fuel and travel

• Use of fully meshed satellite network technology for making calls, thereby reducing call costs and improving voice quality: world-first innovation

• Improved call affordability for rural communities

• Creation of new enterprises in rural areas, including phone centre operators, recharge airtime retailers and handset sellers

• Improvement of local services as a result of mobile telephony access

• Reduction in response times for security and energy support.