2.3 GHz, Nitel/Mtel Muddles Killing Telecom

The fast paced growth that greeted the initial telecom revolution in Nigeria is slowing down and it is disheartening.
Like everything Nigeria, the country is allowing opportunities that come on a platter of gold disappear because of self interest and greed.
It is also shocking that the reasons for the slow growth are feeble.
Look at the odious government intervention that halted the 2.3 GHz licensing round; and the claims and counter charges that greeted the privatization of Nitel/Mtel, the premier national carrier.
These events took the shine off the industry pushing investors to sit on the fence and watch with cautious optimism as Nigeria smears her feces on self.
The 2.3GHz frequency band licensing round is a clear case of executive recklessness and some degree of arrogance.
Where two elephants fight, it is the grass that bears the brunt. In this case as minister of information and communications and the former executive vice chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) threw their weights around, the country lost ground and is yet to recover.
It would be recalled that in 2009, the Nigerian Communications Commission cleared four companies to receive spectrum in the 2.3GHz frequency range out of the 41 applications it received.
The process was entangled in controversy at the close of the bid when three companies: Mobitel Limited, Spectranet and Galaxy Wireless were said to have met the obligations and later NCC claimed that Galaxy Wireless did not pay up as at when due and allegedly attempted to replace them with Multilinks-Telkom.
It will be recalled that government cancelled the licences citing improper bidding and auctioning process and ordered a fresh sale but the determined Mobitel pressed its case and got its license.
Apart from Mobitel which got the nod to roll out on 2.3 GHz (the robust next generation technology), three more licenses are still in the freezer.
Also in the freezer is Nigeria’s chance to harness the technology touted as very important in the race leading up to broadband revolution because it helps operators provide mobile WiMAX services that are potentially much more transformative than any lone technological item.
As the uncertainty over the licenses lingers, stakeholders are asking if one man or group can hold down a country of more than 140 million people.
In the short term, Nigeria is thought to be losing over $2billion in fresh investment and chance to make broadband affordable and enhanced.
Broadband revolution is about a huge increase in the range of services that can be offered via the internet and digital television. It promises a new age in entertainment and communications, as well as a major boost for e-commerce.
Elsewhere, the continued inactivity at Nitel/Mtel has seen customers leave operator in their droves, due to poor network quality, with several service outages.
It is now doubtful if carrier can regain the ground that it has lost to its larger rivals.
Attempts to rejig the company with the recent privatization which saw New Generations Telecommunications Consortium emerging the winner with $2.5billion offer for Nitel/Mtel has been embroiled in controversy.
It is shocking that government is still hesitant to accept the sum for a carrier said to be worthless.
The sale to New Generation Consortium was the fifth on the long and tortuous journey to privatize the national carrier.
The rational thing to do would been to grant the consortium nod and wait and see if they would not meet their offer.
Coupled with the seeming lethargy in the auctioning of the remaining 2.3 GHz licenses, it appears Nigeria may sit at outskirt of the burgeoning broadband revolution.
The only way to avoid that is to ensure that every operator which is entitled to any license gets it.
The federal government should be mindful of sending wrong signals to foreign investors with its reckless policy somersault and reversals.
At least in the interest of the masses which the government claims to represent, telecom should be allowed to ‘cheetah pole-vault’ the economy.
If this is done Nigeria stands to gain from broadband revolution said to be of the same magnitude as the industrial revolution of the 1800s.
It is touted with the ability to speed up education, human resource development, as well as research and development.