MTN launches 5G pilot

Mobile operator MTN Congo officially launched its pilot-phase 5G mobile network on 28 October 2022, claiming a first in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). As reported by Agence Ecofin, MTN announced that the 5G service ‘should soon be available to users’. At a launch event, telecoms minister Leon Juste Ibombo noted that 5G tests had achieved data speeds exceeding 10Gbps, while the pilot project will enable MTN Congo to prepare the ground for the launch of commercial 5G in the country, in a context of growing demand for high-speed connectivity. Minister Ibombo also highlighted that the government ‘will hasten to offer operators in the sector a technologically neutral licence to establish and operate a terrestrial cellular mobile network open to the public, for the provision of electronic communication services.’