MTN unveils West Africa’s largest data centre in Nigeria
MTN Nigeria has announced the construction of West Africa’s largest data center, a cutting-edge facility boasting 1,500 racks and Tier 4 specifications. This announcement marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure development, aiming to meet the burgeoning data demands of businesses and consumers across the country.
A State-of-the-Art Facility
The new data center is designed to be completely fault-tolerant, offering redundancy for every component and an impressive uptime of 99.995%. This ensures the facility can withstand a wide range of potential disruptions, providing the most reliable infrastructure available.
Mohammed Rufai, MTN’s Chief Technical Officer, emphasized the pivotal role this data center will play in enhancing Nigeria’s digital infrastructure. “The data center will support MTN’s infrastructure and serve as a vital resource for businesses across Nigeria,” Rufai stated.
Boosting Business Efficiency
The facility will enable businesses to eliminate the need for maintaining their server rooms, providing the space and services necessary to digitalize operations and improve efficiency. It will also enhance content delivery from major tech companies like Meta and Google, bringing content closer to Nigerian users and significantly improving access speeds. This local hosting of content is expected to boost user experience and network efficiency.
Rufai noted the critical need for expanded data processing capabilities driven by the significant growth in data usage and the emergence of new services. “We see a high demand in the market, with data usage growing significantly,” Rufai said. “To cater to this demand and prepare for future growth, MTN is expanding and modernizing its data center capacity.”
Economic Impact
The project is not only a technological investment but also a catalyst for economic growth. By providing scalable and adaptable infrastructure, the data center will enable businesses, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to leverage cloud services and other digital solutions. This will drive innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness across various sectors of the economy.
MTN’s readiness to partner with startups and MSMEs offers numerous opportunities for collaboration, particularly in cloud services. This initiative aligns with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy, demonstrating the company’s commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.
Sustainability Measures
The data center will utilize efficient cooling systems and a combination of traditional energy sources, gas, and renewable energy. Rufai highlighted the importance of these energy measures, noting that they will significantly reduce the facility’s carbon footprint. “Up to 60% of the power consumption of a typical data center in our climate is for cooling. MTN’s highly efficient systems will ensure we meet our sustainability targets,” he explained.
A Milestone in Nigeria’s Digital Landscape
As Nigeria’s digital landscape advances, the new data center represents a significant milestone. It captures MTN’s continued drive for innovation, quality, and growth, fostering a connected, modern life that aims to provide improved services, economic benefits, and a robust digital infrastructure for the future.
