MTS FirstWireless Re-launches February Next Year

MTS FirstWireless, one of the country’s pioneer telecom service providers is set to bounce back by late February next thanks to the rejigging of the telco with the fresh financial impetus from Oceanic Bank Plc.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek had in September reported that Oceanic Bank Plc, Nigeria’s financial powerhouse offered financial breather (including equity participation) to the telco trapped in the debris of protracted boardroom squabbles.
The bank had earlier inked a deal that gave it 60 per cent of Prest Cable and Satellite TV Systems Limited (Prestel), a Benin based national telecommunications operator owned by Mr. Tosan Prest.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that engineers are now working round the clock to integrate MTS FirstWireless and Prestel networks and position the new network from the fusion into a world class company.
MTS FirstWireless has tremendous goodwill with efforts as far back as 1992 to initiate Nigeria into the wireless world when it was issued with a license to commence the provision of national cellular service in the country. It was then a joint venture between the government-owned Nitel and Digital Communications Ltd. of Atlanta Georgia, USA. But a disagreement between the two joint venture partners led to the abortion of this dream.
The issue was eventually resolved with a favourable settlement brokered by the Nigerian Communications Commission which gave it a basket of licenses to do nationwide fixed telephone services, long distance communications, and international data access.