SAN DIEGO-Nigerian Starcomms Ltd., a privately licensed wireless local loop operator, has agreed to provide service to the Lagos area of Nigeria using a $40 million cdmaOne system supplied by Qualcomm Inc., announced Qualcomm.
Deployment of the 1900 MHz Code Division Multiple Access system is scheduled for early next year, with commercial service expected in the second quarter.
Qualcomm said it is “currently engaged in advanced discussions” with other African carriers, and that high demand for telephone service is spurring the growth of the industry in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country with 110 million people.
“We are extremely pleased to be providing CDMA technology to Nigeria, where demand for telecommunications is among the highest on the continent,” said Charles Oshunremi, director of business development of African operations for Qualcomm’s Wireless Infrastructure Products division. “We expect to open the Qualcomm office in Nigeria within the first quarter of 1998 to provide local technical support and account management.”
