TheCable

Carl Cruz, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Airtel Nigeria, will speak on the company’s 5G network and its impact on the Nigerian economy, at an event hosted by Technology Times.

In a statement on Monday, Shina Badaru, founder of Technology Times, said  Cruz will be speaking at a thought leadership session at the event.

The event, titled, ‘Nigeria Mobile Revolution: 22 Years On in Era of 5G’, will take place on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, from 2 pm to 3 pm Nigeria time.

The conference will also be streamed live on YouTube via the link: bit.ly/ttlivetv.

According to the statement, Cruz will discuss how Airtel Nigeria’s 5G network is providing businesses and consumers with faster speed, lower latency, and greater capacity.

He will also talk about the potential of 5G to revolutionise sectors such as healthcare, education, and manufacturing.

Commenting on the event, Badaru said the revolution, driven by the launch of service by Airtel Nigeria (then Econet wireless Nigeria) and other mobile network operators (MNOs), “has seen the country’s mobile phone lines grow from over 500,000 lines in 2001 to over 220 million lines in June 2023, and has also become an innovation enabler across several sectors of the Nigerian economy”.

“We are pleased to be hosting Cruz, Airtel Nigeria CEO/managing director, who will be featuring on Technology Times Live, a virtual interactive TV session to analyse the role that the leading MNO continues to play in shaping and defining the mobile revolution in the country, and also refocus the positive impact that its new Airtel 5G service will have for consumers and businesses across the country,” Badaru said.

“At the session, the Airtel Nigeria CEO will refocus the last 22 years of mobile revolutions in the country and how his company continues to lead the charge as mobile technology continues to enable the development of innovative solutions across diverse sectors of the economy, beyond communication.

“He will also speak on the ongoing mobile revolution and the advent of 5G, and how Airtel Nigeria, which has launched commercial 5G service, plans to unlock the benefits and opportunities of the advanced speed mobile technology for Nigerian consumers and businesses, and what exciting developments can they anticipate in the coming years.”

In May 2023, Cruz was appointed as the new managing director and chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa Plc.

Cruz’s appointment took effect on May 5.

Prior to the new role, he was the chairman and managing director of Unilever Sri Lanka, in addition to occupying leadership roles in Unilever Philippines and Hindustan Unilever India.