This page provides useful information about mobile technoloy in general and mobile networks and services in Nigeria, more specifically.

When Did Mobile Phone Services take off in Nigeria?

The first mobile cellular services began in 1993 with Mtel, but was elitist and restricted in every way.

Later, other CDMA operators offered limited mobile phone services as a small segment of their bouquet of services.

Widespread mobile services however took off in August 2001 when Zain (then Econet) launched the first commercial GSM services in Nigeria. In a few years, Nigeria was toasted everywhere as one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world. Nigeria has since overtaken South Africa to become Africa’s largest mobile market.

Mobile Networks in Nigeria

1. MTN – GSM/3G networks – 28,740,000 active subscribers – www.mtnonline.com
2. GloMobile – GSM/3G networks – 16,228,556 active subscribers – www.gloworld.com
3. Zain – GSM/3G networks – 14,935,770 active subscribers – www.ng.zain.com
4. Visafone – CDMA/EVDO networks – 2,533,812 active subscribers – www.visafone.com.ng
5. Etisalat – GSM network – 1,835,870 active subscribers – www.etisalat.com.ng
6. Multilinks Telkom – CDMA/EVDO networks – 1,820,750 active subscribers – www.multilinks.com
7. Starcomms – CDMA/EVDO networks – 1,527,415 active subscribers – www.starcomms.com
8. ZoomMobile – CDMA/EVDO networks – 1,112,352 active subscribers – www.zoomnigeria.com
9. Mtel – GSM network – 258,520 active subscribers
10. Intercellular – CDMA network – www.intercellular-ng.com

**All active subscribers figures as at September 2009
Source: NCC

Glossary of GSM Terms & Data Speeds

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Below are the data services currently available on GSM networks in Nigeria.

• GPRS – General Packet Radio Service; a 2G standard (theoretical top speed: 115 Kbit/s)
• EGPRS – Enhanced General Packet Radio Service; a 2G standard (theoretical top speed: 384 kbit/s). EGPRS is popularly known as EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution)
• 3G/UMTS – Universal Mobile Telecommunications System; a 3G standard; theoretical top speed: 384 kbps
• 3.5G/HSDPA – High Speed Data Packet Access; a 3G standard; theoretical top speed: 7.2 mbps

Glossary of CDMA2000 Terms & Data Speeds

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a competing mobile technology to GSM. Below are the data services currently available on CDMA networks in Nigeria.

• 1x – theoretical top speed: 153 kbps
• EVDO Rev. 0 – Evolution-Data Optimized; theoretical top speed: 2.4 Mbit/s
• EVDO Rev. A – Evolution-Data Optimized; theoretical top speed: 3.1 Mbit/s

Nigerian GSM Frequencies

If roaming to Nigeria, or intending to import GSM mobile phones into the country, be sure to note the following specifications required for the Nigerian market:

• 2G network: GSM 900 / 1800
• 3G network: HSDPA 2100

Mobile Internet in Nigeria

Download our Guide to Mobile Internet in Nigeria.

Check your Mobile Browser User Agent & IP Address

Check your mobile browser’s User Agent and your network’s IP address.

What is a Smartphone?

A smartphone is a mobile device with voice and data capabilities and which runs an operating system that allows the installation and running of third party native applications.

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