MTN To Support Governors With Over N500M Airtime, data , analytics
PELUMI OLALEYE
MTN Nigeria said governors would be given over N500 million worth of airtime, data and analytics, through the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), as support to facilitate communications during travel restrictions.
While over N1.4 billion worth of airtime, data and devices for connectivity would be gifted to frontline health agencies including NCDC. And up to 300 free SMS per month for all subscribers, ensuring they can communicate with loved ones.
In a statement signed by the company, it partnered with Ayoba, a messaging OTT provider, to grant free daily data access to subscribers.
MTN Nigeria and the MTN Foundation also assured the nation that they are committed to doing all they can to help citizens stay connected and support efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The MTN Chairman ,Ernest Ndukwe said; “The threat that COVID-19 represents to Nigeria requires an unprecedented response from the public and the private sector. We must all work together to develop and deliver the solutions that will allow us to contain this threat and protect the most vulnerable in our communities across the country”.
The telco emphased that “We are in this together”, while stressing that COVID-19 is a new test of “Our collective strength. In response, we have deployed the first phase of a broad set of investments in support of the national effort to contain it.
“During this extraordinary time, it is vital that we are able to stay connected to the people we love, and to the tools and information we need to live and work. We understand this, and recognise the immense importance of reliable telecommunications services during this period and have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the services we provide remain available to our customers, in spite of the disruption. This is why our initial priority has been to focus internally on our systems, processes, structures.
“Despite this, it is important to understand that our networks have come under unprecedented pressure as demand has grown rapidly. While all networks ensure there is significant redundancy in place to support peak periods, the level of demand we are seeing consistently exceeds those levels and so, with our regulator, policymakers and colleagues in the industry, we are focused on increasing capacity and sustaining that capacity where it is most needed.
As we continue to work with our stakeholders to assure operational sustainability, we are concentrating on the areas where we can provide the most effective support to the Federal and State governments. A significant part of our commitment is to ensure that our infrastructure can be utilised effectively by health services to guarantee they can carry out their duties. That’s why we have partnered with the NCDC to provide its staff with access to voice and data services, telephones and toll-free lines to co-ordinate their response. The NCDC is at the frontline of our response and needs to be given every chance to contain COVID-19”.
