nTel’s 4G services berth in Port Harcourt, Spectranet claims highest subscription

Fourth Generation / Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network operator, nTel has formally commenced commercial operations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In a letter to Port Harcourt subscribers, the Chief Executive Officer of nTel, Kamar Abass, wrote “I am delighted to announce that beginning December 1, 2016 you can pick up and activate your nTel SIM here in Port Harcourt. We will give priority to those of you who pre-registered your preferred numbers during our number registration campaign.

“In the weeks ahead, our branded stores located at 278 Aba road and 36 old Aba road would be up and running with the full complement of customer facing and after-sales support staff. We are excited to be in Port Harcourt and eager to bring our unique 4G/LTE Advanced services to eager Pioneers like you.”

The biggest benefit of 4G is that it will be upwards of 10 times faster than current 3G network speeds. It allows Internet subscribers to do things faster, consume more media on their device and work harder – although not necessarily in that order

ntel, whose 4G/LTE solution runs on the 900/1800MHz spectrum is Nigeria’s fifth Mobile Network Operator and commenced operations on April 8, 2016 with commercial sales of Voice-over-LTE and high-speed Internet Access services, on their newly commissioned advanced network infrastructure.

Abass said the commencement of commercial operations was the culmination of the journey from acquiring the old NiTel/MTel assets to the delivery of successive milestones underlining their growing operating capability on their new fixed and mobile network infrastructure.

The company had announced in April 2016 that it would take off in three key cities of Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in the first phase of their expansion. “The commencement of operations in Port Harcourt is thus the completion of a cycle and a promise kept to subscribers,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Spectranet has restated its commitment towards ensuring that subscribers enjoy uninterrupted Internet service following the recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that showed it as the ISP with the highest number of subscribers in the country.

The statistics released by the NCC revealed that Spectranet is leading with subscriber base of 193,892 amongst 14 other Internet Service Providers in Nigeria.

Speaking on the latest development, the Managing Director Spectranet limited, David Venn, noted that the source of Spectranet’s comparative advantage over other ISPs remains its ability to identify the particular customer segments that need its services and in turn offer them with quality services.

“When we started the rebranding process, we were able to take strategic decision to narrow our drive to homes and, small and medium sized enterprises. We provide the best broadband service for homes and growing businesses in Nigeria and that is one of our marketing advantages.”

“We do not really do corporate or voice, but we have been serving our target market with the best broadband quality. We have been very focused on what we give to our customers and the best is only what we give out and our subscribers have been testifying the quality of our offerings”, he said.

Venn also stated the reason as to why Spectranet is not doing the voice service, “Spectranet is a broadband company. We provide good quality, at-the-right-price. We are not a mobile phone company, we don’t offer phone and voice services, we offer data and internet services, and fast broadband.

However, he explained further that another game changer in growing Spectranet’s subscriber base was the focus on middle class Nigerian families who are in need of reliable broadband services. According to him, the positive impact of internet at home ranges from being connected to loved ones, to providing entertainment for the household, access to a world of information and education for the children.

Venn said that the rate of Spectranet growth has led to a huge investment in its operations to the extent that the number of base stations has increased resulting in an improvement in the facilities that makes it the most advanced in the world. This resulted in the unique partnership with a world class brand such as Netflix in West Africa.

The partnership with Netflix according Venn is a statement on the quality of the network and its proposed journey to parade world class services in Nigeria.