Nigeria

Intercellular Nigeria Plc was awarded a licence in 1996 to operate a private network based on CDMA technology.  The company commenced commercial operations in Lagos in February 1998. 

The company gradually extended its network and operations to include a further six locations – Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Zaria and Maiduguri.

The company was operating its network using three CDMA carriers in the 800 MHz band, licenced by the Nigerian Communication Commission (“NCC”).  In May 2005, a WiMAX pilot project was implemented and operated in Lagos, but the company holds a licence for Abuja and Port Harcourt as well. 

In December 2006, Intercellular was awarded a national unified access service licence providing a platform for the company to provide fixed, mobile and data services.

In December 2008, Expresso Telecom acquired 70% of Intercellular and currently the company only provides fixed wireless services.  In 2009, Expresso was able to obtain an additional CDMA carrier, resulting in four CDMA carriers with nationwide coverage.   

Expresso is currently executing its strategic initiative to upgrade and expand the CDMA and WiMAX networks to provide a comprehensive suite of products and services, including fixed wireless, mobile and data services.