Telcos Urge NCC to Address High Cost in Telecoms’ Service Delivery, RoW Issues

Emma Okonji

Worried about the burden of high cost in delivering telecoms services, coupled with the Right of Way (RoW) and multiple taxation issues, which are currently affecting the quality of telecoms services across networks, telecoms operators, under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), have tasked the newly appointed Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, to address the challenges within the first six months of his tenure.

According to them, the urgent need to address the key issues, will bring stability in the telecoms sector and improve quality of service delivery.

Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, who spoke on behalf of telecoms operators, warned that if the issues were not addressed urgently, they could erode the gains of telecoms in Nigeria, and also plunge telecoms growth in Nigeria.

Adebayo who spoke to THISDAY about the challenges of the telecoms sector, said:  “We must commend the former EVC of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta for his efforts in growing the telecoms industry during his tenure and the industry will be grateful to him, for his leadership that led to significant growth of broadband in the country. We welcome the new EVC, Dr. Aminu Maida and also challenge him to address the current issues facing the telecoms industry.

The challenges are numerous. He should concentrate on stabilising the telecoms infrastructure. The issue of service quality should be addressed. High cost of operations in the telecoms sector should be addressed. The issue of access to Forex should also be addressed and telecoms should be given priority in accessing Forex because the sector is highly foreign exchange dependent. The issue of Right of Way (RoW) and multiple taxes should be addressed. He must drive our agenda to make telecoms infrastructure a Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and ensue regulatory independence of the telecoms sector.”

Adebayo further said telecoms operators do not have enough capacity to deliver quality service in some parts of Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, as a result of denial to rollout of telecoms infrastructure in Abuja because approval were not granted for operators to build cell sites in Abuja.  He therefore called on Maida to address the identified issues as early as possible.

Meanwhile, new Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, has said he will align with the commission’s regulatory focus to achieve the promises of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda to advance the nation’s digital transformation agenda. 

Maida, who spoke to Senior Management team of the commission at its head office in Abuja shortly after he resumed office, said there was need to ensure that the NCC strategically focus on ensuring all Nigerians have access to affordable and reliable broadband services. Part of this is to ensure “effective broadband infrastructure diffusion across the length and breadth of Nigeria.” 

The new telecoms regulator paid tributes to former chief executives of the commission for their laudable role in building a resilient telecoms industry. Maida said the pursuit of improved quality of service on the networks would be one of his priorities, as well as supporting the vision of the federal government and the Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy. 

“Considering the fact that many people are going more digital and virtual in everything they do, the telecoms infrastructure is now under much stress. President Tinubu’s vision emphasises the need to build more robust broadband connectivity that will not only facilitate seamless digital transactions, but also serve as the bedrock for e-governance and other socio-economic initiatives,” Maida said. 

We need to build a reliable telecoms industry with impressive quality of service (QoS) indicators with quality of experience (QoE) as our watchword and ultimate goal. This also requires us to address a number of issues such as the Right of Way (RoW) challenge, ensuring security of our telecoms infrastructure, among others, Maida further said.