13 months after obtaining its licence, MAFAB Communications, on Thursday, January 26, 2023, launched its 5G network in Lagos. In a media conference, the fast growing TelCom disclosed and demonstrated what make it a unique network provider.
The first shocker was the rebrand of MAFAB communications, to MCom; securing 0801 as the number plan for voice calls. Answering to the shock of how the company secured such unique number plan, MCom's spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onibanjo, said they applied and organically got it. He added that the company has enjoyed several of such organic alignments, which are only proof that they are headed in the right direction.
MCom has also said Nigerians should expect its presence at four more cities, asides Lagos and Abuja. MCom had flagged off the launch in Abuja just 48 hours before the Lagos launch. Nigerians should expect the network to launch in four other cities in the near future; Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna.
Speaking to pressmen at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, the Chairman, MAFAB Communications, Dr. Musbahu Bashir, said the company would play a major role in advancing new technologies that would push Nigeria beyond just being a consumer of technology, but a country playing an active role in developing and implementing new technologies. "It will also enable our country take its position as a global technology hub in Africa and the world at large," he added.
Dr. Bashir also pointed out that many business opportunities will emerge as a result of the 5G network. "The 5G network will usher into this country a wide array of business opportunities, wherein various business outfits will expand their frontiers with operational ease and speed, especially in the fields of education, medical sciences, engineering, security, businesses like the banking sector, SMEs, smart cities, transportation, entertainment etc., and allow Nigerians meet the long-term goal of ensuring that everybody is connected.”
The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo Olu, further cosigned, expressing optimism that African Silicon Valley could be made manifest with the opportunities created by 5G network. "I am now very optimistic that we will achieve resounding success because the opportunity that MAFAB 5G network represents has met our preparedness part of which is the country’s technology hub found in the Yaba district of Lagos, which when completed will be our own African Silicon Valley,” the Lagos governor said.
It is not new to conversation that one of the major fears of 5G network is the benefits it will be of to cyber criminals, however, the MCom spokes person addressed these fears, saying that MCom's security structure is well fortified and will be further upgraded as frequently as possible.
It was rather surprising that journalists still asked questions as to the basic speed difference between 5G and 4G. In demonstrating the download speed of MCom's 5G, Onibanjo recorded over 1600 Mbps. What you should know, however, is that 1000Mbps is the rare best case scenario download speed for 4G networks. 4G mostly plays around the speed space of 100 to 500 Mbps.
To further fortify trust in its speed, Onibanjo also demonstrated the strength of the 5G network as he was able to stream an 8k video for the crowd's viewing. Wowed by the crisp resolution, the crowed missed the most interesting point about streaming this video; an 8K video played to finish without buffering.