Smile Nigeria Leads 4G LTE Innovation in Africa with World First

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Smile Communications Nigeria ("Smile Nigeria") has announced the introduction of two 4G LTE innovations to its customers in Nigeria, namely SmileVoice and SmileUnlimited. Smile is the first operator in West Africa to offer its customers Voice over LTE services, giving them access to the fast growing Global standard for voice and video calling.

SmileVoice comes in two options; using a world-first downloadable free mobile App that affords customers with a Smartphone Android and Apple iPhone device the ability to make SuperClear voice calls over Smile's 4G LTE network, or through the use of VoLTE-enabled handsets plus a Smile SIM card, such as the latest Samsung devices.

SmileUnlimited offers customers 30 days of unlimited access to Smile's SuperFast 4G LTE mobile broadband service.

Dr Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu-Obiejesi, Chairman Smile Communications Nigeria said, "Smile is the first mobile operator in West Africa to develop and introduce Voice over LTE, plus a world first to in a free Voice over LTE application that enables all our customers in Nigeria with Android and iPhone devices to experience high-quality voice calls over Smile's network. We are committed to improving the quality of voice and data services in Nigeria. With SmileVoice our customers can call anyone locally and in the world just like on any other mobile."

"With our recently announced funding Smile has doubled the size of its 4G LTE network in Nigeria to 7 states and the capital and now provides 30-days of unlimited access to SuperFast mobile broadband - there is no other provider that is offering its customers such value and convenience," says Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi.

Elaborating on the SmileUnlimited offering, Mr Michiel Buitelaar, Managing Director Smile Nigeria explained that any unlimited offering is subject to a fair usage policy (FUP). Smile's FUP is very generous when compared with other local offers and ensures that connectivity is maintained throughout the 30-day period.

Not only is Smile's pricing more affordable than that of competitor narrowband offerings, but Smile's superior experience of true broadband makes SmileUnlimited a fitting application of Smile's value proposition of speed, quality, reliability and simplicity.

The free SmileVoice App is a world-first, enabling customers that don't have VoLTE-capable handsets to make reliable Voice over LTE calls when connected to Smile's mobile broadband network. "In the Nigerian market Android is the leading handset and together with the free SmileVoice App, we are ensuring that all our registered customers have a way to experience high-quality voice calls from their mobiles," says Mr Buitelaar.

"We made our first Voice over LTE calls in Nigeria during beta-testing in October 2015 and the feedback from our existing customers since our soft-launch early February has been extremely positive. Thousands of our customers now make national and international voice calls using their data bundles," says Mr Buitelaar about the Nigerian market.

To use SmileVoice, customers will be required to have a registered SIM card and active SmileData service. When out of range of the Smile network, the SmileVoice App will enable calls from any device that is connected to the Internet via 3G or Wi-Fi at home or abroad. Customers who make calls when travelling abroad will be charged their local call rates, as if they were calling from home.