Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) says it is helping MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of Dubai-based MTN Group, to open Africa’s most populous nation to the benefits of broadband connectivity by supplying equipment for a 100-Gbps fiber-optic network.

MTN Nigeria is the biggest mobile operator in Nigeria and the West Africa region with more than 58 million subscribers. MTN Nigeria’s network covers 88.8% of the country’s land mass, giving 86.2% of the population access to mobile services.

Alcatel-Lucent is supporting MTN Nigeria’s rapid growth in mobile subscribers by building a 100G that re-uses existing 10G optical assets. The new network also gives MTN the capacity and flexibility to offer wholesale services to other service providers in the region.

MTN Nigeria will deploy a 100G DWDM/OTN network using Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform, a family of equipment that leverages a variety of new technologies, including coherent transmission, SD-FEC, and zero-touch photonics.

"MTN realized we needed to upgrade our network to meet customer expectations for ultra-broadband connectivity and high reliability within Nigeria’s very competitive marketplace," said Lynda Saint-Nwafor, CTO of MTN Nigeria. "We wanted a state-of-the-art solution that met three main criteria: increased network reliability, a high degree of scalability to prepare the network for 400G and beyond, and preservation of our existing 10G investment. Alcatel-Lucent’s demonstrations showed that they could meet all of our criteria and we look forward to deploying the network overlay in 2014."

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