MTN partners with Huawei to bring Africa’s first 800G optical network to Nigeria
The tech giant could be setting a new bar, not just for the country, but for all of West Africa.
In 2022, MTN became the first telecom operator to launch 5G service in Nigeria. Since then, other telecom giants like Airtel, Glo, and 9Mobile now offer 5G internet to their millions of users.
But it seems MTN now wants to stay clear of competition, as the telecom giant announced a new partnership with Huawei to launch Nigeria’s first hybrid 400G–800G Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON).
With this, you may get high-capacity optical channels capable of pushing 400G and even 800G speeds. For context, MTN 5G gives you about 1gb per second, but this should reach up to 400gb per second.
The partnership comes with the first-ever activation of both L0 and L1 ASON, which are basically intelligent switching at both optical and electrical levels, on MTN. That means better traffic management for data, fewer disruptions, and more efficient routing, especially when the network is under pressure.
Oyinebiladou Omemu
Huawei’s tech, however, underpins it all, particularly their next-gen 400G/800G platforms and Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) systems. These enable faster transmission, lower latency, and smarter network behavior, helping MTN scale operations without getting buried under complexity. So, we get smoother streaming, quicker downloads, more responsive cloud services, and more robust enterprise connections.
For MTN, this is a strategic upgrade that positions it to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive digital space.
As MTN Nigeria’s CTO, Yahaya Ibrahim, put it, "The pressure on networks today demands solutions that are not just powerful but also intelligent and future-proof." And this rollout hits that sweet spot. It slashes operational costs while building in flexibility and resilience, a win-win for both the company and its users.
Zooming out, this is also a moment for Nigeria. It signals the country’s readiness to embrace next-generation connectivity and positions it as a leader in Africa’s digital transformation. As demand for data-intensive services keeps climbing, infrastructure like this will be key to unlocking growth, fostering innovation, and connecting more Nigerians to the digital economy.
