Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I use any GSM phone in Nigeria ?
Yes, as long as it is a dual band (900/1800) GSM phone and it is not locked to any other mobile network provider. However you need a SIM card from VMobile, MTN, NITEL (M-Tel) or Globacom.
If you live abroad and wish to use your phone in Nigeria contact your provider to find out if it has a roaming agreement with any of Nigeria's phone operators.
Is there any roaming facility ?
MTN and VMobile provide international roaming facilities enabling subscribers to use their phones abroad.
NITEL and Globacom have plans to offer international roaming in the nearest future.
What is the current level of coverage ?
MTN currently has the widest coverage in the country and is in most of the major cities - Lagos, Abuja, Port harcourt, Ibadan, Aba, Kaduna etc.
VMobile has coverage in the following cities - Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Oyo, Onitsha, Uyo, Asaba, Ibadan and most of the southern parts of the country. There are still plans for further nationwide coverage in the nearest future.
NITEL (M-Tel) has coverage in Abuja, Lagos and most of the state capitals.
Globacom, the second national telecom operator, launched in Abuja on september 1st 2003 and has rolled out to Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Benin, Ijebu Ode and most of the major cities.
What are the services available on the networks ?
International roaming, SMS Text Messaging, Call Conferencing, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding,
Caller ID display, Call Barring, Voice Mail, Mobile Fax
What are the packages offered by MTN ?
MTN has 2 service packages - Contract and Pay As You Go.
The contract package includes a connection fee (20,000 Naira), Access fee (4,000 Naira) and a monthly usage fee (15,000 Naira).
Optional fees are payable for international roaming (50,000 Naira) and international direct dialing (25,000 Naira).
For Pay as you go, the SIM card exclusive of the handset costs (20,000 Naira).
Top up cards cost (1,500 Naira) for 15 days access time, (3,000 Naira) for 30 days access and (6,000 Naira) for 2 months.
What are the packages offered by VMobile ?
VMobile has 5 contract packages namely Business Partner, Libertie Platinum, Libertie Gold and Libertie Bronze.
The connection fee is (11,000 Naira), SIM Card charge is (4,000 Naira), Network Commitment refundable fee (10,000 - 24,000 Naira) depending on the package. Optional fees payable for international roaming (52,000 Naira).
For the Libertie packages there is a monthly minimum air time usage amount paid in advance ranging from (5,000 Naira - 12,000 Naira).
For Business partner there is a monthly line rental payment (4,000 Naira)
VMobile's Pay as you go service is called 'Buddie' for (18,000 Naira) including (6,000 Naira) airtime.
What are the packages offered by NITEL (M-Tel) ?
NITEL is offering 5 packages - Royal, Prince, Classic, Diplomat and Rose.
For the Royal package, there is a connection cost (10,000 Naira), a deposit of (10,000 Naira) for local national calls and an optional deposit of (50,000 Naira) for IDD (international direct dialing) facility.
What are the packages offered by Globacom ?
Globacom is offering the following packages - Prepaid Classic, Prepaid Premium, Prepaid Plus (Business 400 and 600) and Postpaid Plus. Each package offers the option of per second or per minute billing.
What are the call charges ?
On MTN Local calls cost between (25 - 50 Naira) a minute. Voice mail costs (10 Naira) a minute. Text messages (25 Naira) per message. International calls cost between (125 - 150 Naira) a minute. MTN now offers per second billing.
On VMobile local calls cost between (19 - 45 Naira) off peak depending on the package and (50 Naira) at other times. Text messages (15 Naira) per message. News on demand (30 Naira). Calls to other networks cost around (50 Naira) per minute. Peak hours are 07.00 - 19.00 hrs. VMobile also offers per second billing.
NITEL (M-Tel) local calls cost (22 Naira) per minute during peak periods and (11.25 Naira) off peak. It now offers per second billing.
Globacom charges per second and per minute, there are no peak charges and calls cost between 80k and 90k per second or between N35 and N39 per minute depending on the billing option chosen.
Any customer help lines ?
VMobile 0802 111
MTN 0803 10180
Globacom 0805 121
Emergency Numbers
VMobile 199
MTN 112
NITEL (M-Tel) 112
Please visit the operators websites for up to date information on all their packages/services
MTN On line
VMobile
NITEL (M-Tel)
Globacom
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