MTN Acquires Visafone, Pledges Quality Broadband

MTN NIGERIA, one of Nigeria’s mobile network operators, has acquired Visafone, the only surviving Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, operator in the country.

With the development, the mobile network telephone landscape has been completely transformed into an entirely Global System for Mobile, GSM affairs.

A press statement issued yesterday by MTN Nigeria confirmed earlier speculations that the mobile network operator in Nigeria was making movies to buy Visafone.

The acquisition of the last CDMA operator was a market strategy by the acquiring company to create a niche for itself in the broadband services sector currently experiencing hiccups in quality service delivery.

In line with a continued commitment to improving the quality for its subscribers, the Management of leading ICT Company in Nigeria, MTN, has announced the completion of the acquisition of Visafone.

According to MTN Executive, Amina Oyagbola, the acquisition which seeks to leverage resources for service enhancement is also reflective of the ICT Company’s concerted efforts to deepen the growth and roll out of broadband services across the country in support of the National Broadband Plan for the benefit of Nigerians.

Oyagbola said that her company was committed to exploring avenues for meeting its customers’ increasing data needs in line with its vision ‘to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to its customers.

She said: “As we work to maximize our data capabilities towards achieving broadband of international quality, our objective is to ensure that Nigerians experience a boost in the quality of broadband internet services translating to the much needed enhanced data speeds and value to enhance personal and business productivity.”

She explained that the acquisition of Visafone highlights MTN’s commitment to Nigeria stressing that more capacity will facilitate enhanced product/service offerings and experience in the data space to the delight of our valued customers.

“Data is becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives and our energies are focused on enhancing data and internet services to the benefit of our customers and the country at large”, Oyagbola observed.

The news of the acquisition of Visafone broke less than two months of the promise made by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, to revive the ailing CDMA subsector.

He listed top on his agenda the ailing CDMA subsector of the industry, which has continued to maintain downward profile in the last five years, admitting that the fixed networks have been neglected, and that nobody is interested in them despite the promises they hold.

Visafone is one of the leading CDMA/ICT companies in Nigeria offering a number of services including voice, high speed data (3G), internet and other Value Added Services (VAS).