MTN Nigeria and Huawei have deployed the world's first commercial sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO site. This cutting-edge solution increases low-band LTE traffic by an impressive 104%, boosts downlink user-perceived rate by 28%, and reduces physical resource block usage by 8% compared with previous 4T4R equipment, representing significant improvements in network capacity and 4G user experience. By building on the earlier adoption of C-band and tri-mid-band Massive MIMO, the two companies have deployed the world's first all-band Massive MIMO site. This milestone signifies MTN's pioneering entry into the "All Bands to Massive MIMO" era.
As the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria is seeing a profound transformation in its mobile communications networks. With large numbers of 2G and 3G users migrating to 4G and the rise of new services such as short videos, live streaming, and mobile payments, LTE traffic has experienced explosive growth across the nation. However, limited low-band spectrum resources mean networks are facing increasingly severe congestion that degrades user experience. MTN Nigeria and Huawei have thus deployed sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO to address these challenges. Compared with 4T4R, this innovative solution doubles downlink LTE capacity and is capable of a 3.2-fold capacity expansion upon future evolution to NR. It effectively alleviates network congestion and fully unleashes suppressed traffic, delivering users a more stable, smoother, and faster mobile experience.
Huawei's sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO is the first solution in the industry to combine extremely large antenna arrays with wideband technology in the prized low-band spectrum. This solution significantly enhances low-band spectral efficiency through the efficient integration and coordination of fragmented spectrum resources. It also supports the coexistence of GSM, UMTS, LTE, NR, and NB-IoT, facilitating the seamless evolution of all bands to 5G. Furthermore, with innovations in materials, architecture, and algorithms, this breakthrough solution overcomes theoretical limitations to address challenges such as the excessive size, width, and weight of sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO equipment. This guarantees the commercial feasibility of the equipment and serves as the final piece of the puzzle in "All Bands to Massive MIMO."
Yahaya Ibrahim, CTO of MTN Nigeria, stated, "At MTN, we are committed to building the most extensive, highest-quality, and best-performing communications network." He went on to say that "Our successful collaboration with Huawei on the commercial debut of sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO has significantly boosted network performance. We now deliver faster, more stable connectivity to every user. Moving forward, we will deepen our partnership with Huawei to drive technological innovations, tackle key challenges in network development, and fuel the digital economy in Nigeria."
James Zeng, President of Huawei Wireless FDD Product Line, explained, "The first commercial rollout of sub-1 GHz Massive MIMO validates its ability to significantly enhance spectral efficiency, network coverage, uplink speeds, and energy efficiency while reducing latency. This milestone paves the way for broader adoption, which will provide stable, reliable connectivity for diverse mobile AI terminals and large numbers of IoT devices. This will deliver superior experience to users anytime, anywhere."
Source: https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2026/4/fdd-triplelowband-massivemimo
