MTN increases access days in Nigeria

LARGEST Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), in the country, MTN Communications Nigeria, has increased its access days for prepaid customers with each recharge from Thursday, July 14, 2005.

The GSM operator said that subscribers who load N6,000 recharge card would enjoy 120 access days instead of the previous 60 days.
The same number of access days (120) would now apply to N3,000 recharge card, a substantial increase from the previous 30 access days.

MTN’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Afam Edozie announced that a N1,500 recharge card would entitle the customer to 60 access days, up from the previous 15 days, while N750 recharge will now attract 30 access days, from the current five access days.

He said that the N500 voucher, which is included in some MTN starter packs, now has 10 access days, instead of five days, while N400 voucher now comes with 10 access days, and not four days.

He stressed that this development I in line with the operator’s believe to better place its customers by allowing them to accumulate 365 access days.

ITRealms recalls that until now, the maximum access days allowed was 90 days on the network.

Mr. Edozie further restated the commitment of GSM company in ensuring that the greatest interest of its numerous customers to enjoy the network.

“We want our customers to see us as a listening company, even as we are committed to providing world class telephone services,” he asserted.

MTN Nigeria which is part of the MTN Group, proud itself as a leading cellular telecommunications company on the continent.

ITRealms further recalls that on May 16, 2001, MTN was reported to have made a call following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year.

It has since launched full commercial operations in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

MTN paid $285m for one of four GSM licenses in Nigeria in January 2001 and today, operates in excess of US$1.8 billion which has been invested building mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria.

Since launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services across Nigeria.

It now claims to have services in 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of the Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Many of these villages and communities are being connected to the world of telecommunications for the first time ever.

In addition, the company’s digital microwave transmission backbone, the 3,400 Kilometre Y’elloBahn was commissioned by President Olusegun Obasanjo in January 2003 and is reputed to be the most extensive digital microwave transmission infrastructure in all of Africa. The Y’elloBahn has significantly helped to enhance call quality on MTN network.