ntel, the new owner of NITEL, on Tuesday unveiled number reservation offer for its subscribers as it prepared to enter the telecommunications market.
The Chief Executive Officer of ntel, Mr Kamar Abass, made the disclosure in a statement in Lagos.
It said that the pre-launch opportunity to early pre-subscribers would empower them through a technologically advanced pure-play 4Generation (4G)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.
The statement said that the first batch of subscribers (hundreds of thousands) to reserve their numbers, and subsequently SIM-activate after launch, would be recognised as “Pioneers’’ on Nigeria’s newest mobile network.
It added that such would mark them out as among the first to reap the company’s promise of abundant broadband on its pure-play advanced 4G/LTE network.
“ntel is a proudly Nigerian company that is fully committed to empowering Nigerians through a technologically advanced pure-play 4G/LTE network.
“We are offering Pioneer status to the first batch of subscribers on our network.
“Those who reserve their numbers, and subsequently SIM-activate with us, will be the vanguard of a select corps of privileged subscribers,’’ the statement quoted Abass as saying.
It said that the number reservation campaign which opened on March 8, 2016 would run until April 8, 2016.
According to the statement, the campaign offers prospective subscribers who log onto ntel’s website www.ntel.com.ng, the opportunity to pick and reserve up to five numbers of their choice.
It said that provided the subscribers register in time, they were eligible to become ntel Pioneers.
The statement said that the company, which made its first Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call in Lagos on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, was positioned to lead the way as Nigeria’s most advanced 4G/LTE network at a critical moment of transition.
“ntel is entering a vibrant and exciting market with four established players, but it hopes to make a mark quickly with its full commercial launch of high-definition voice, video and high-speed Internet Access services over Advanced 4G/LTE.
“ntel’s network is built on the 900/1800 Mhz which is recognised as the most widely used frequencies for the deployment of 4G/LTE technology.
“We expect to see more than 50 million 4G/LTE subscribers in Nigeria by 2020 and ntel is delighted to be leading this transformation towards that critical mass of customers,’’ it said.