MTN Nigeria is expanding broadband services to millions of homes across Nigeria, with a recent launch of Home Broadband services.

The company said the products were to help accelerate broadband penetration in alignment with the Federal Government’s plan to achieve over 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025.

MTN said the Home Broadband services will be available to millions of Nigerian households.

With over 200 million people, Nigeria currently boasts of approximately 44.3 per cent internet connectivity, whereas other African countries, such as South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya, are at 68, 74, and 48 per cent internet penetration, respectively.

Global technology statistics closely link internet connectivity to sustainable economic growth rates.

The internet, on the average,  accounts for almost four per cent of GDP across the large economies that make up 70 per cent of global GDP. UNICEF also projects that nations with low broadband connectivity have the potential to realise up to 20 per cent GDP growth by connecting schools to the internet.

MTN currently connects over 70 million Nigerians, accounting for over 7 percent 4G population and 89.8 per cent coverage nationwide. With MTN’s Fibre-to-the-Home and the latest Fixed Wireless Access Home Broadband services, it is expected that millions of Nigerian households, with approximately 50 per cent located in rural areas, will have access to reliable and ultra-fast broadband services to enjoy unlimited data plans, ability to connect multiple devices and share data across remote locations for online learning, working from home, streaming, gaming, smart home solutions among others.

Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria said: “At MTN, we believe that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life; hence our investment in industry-leading connectivity operations”.

In a related activity, MTN  also officially concluded the 2022 Y’ello Care campaign weekend.   21 Days of Y’ello Care is an annual employee volunteerism program for MTN staff to volunteer their resources to empower local communities across Nigeria through capacity building and other forms of empowerment.

This year’s campaign was themed, “Empowering Communities to Drive Economic Recovery”.

This theme was said to have inspired MTN employees to rise to the challenge of upskilling local communities to help boost economic activities. MTN employees, alongside partners to the brand organised several financial inclusion and empowerment programmes for women, youth and children within various communities. Employability training, graphics design masterclasses and hackathons were organised with several individuals and businesses empowered with start-up capital, devices and business equipment across Nigeria.

Director of Monitoring and Investigation, Lagos State Agency for Mass Education, Mustapha Ibrahim, while commending MTN’s effort at the Surulere Vocational Centre,  said: “I am impressed with MTN’s commitment to growth and development, and I am not surprised because the company is well-known for this. We appreciate MTN’s support and are ready to continue partnering with you.”

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Chief Human Resources Officer, MTN Nigeria, Esther Akinnukawe, said, “This year, our Y’ello Care initiative was focused on how we can give value to our communities enabling them to be more productive participants in the economy. It has been a privilege to give where we live, and we are truly grateful to the communities and people who received us. Thank you for believing, working with and trusting us to connect you to what matters most.”