Cautious Optimism over NATCOM’s Take over of NITEL/MTel

Stakeholders in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector are cautiously optimistic about news of the ratification of NATCOM Consortium as preferred bidder for Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL), and MTel, its mobile subsidiary.

Engr. Sam Adeleke, immediate past president, Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) and chief executive officer, Steineng Ltd, expressed reservation over the ownership of NATCOM and warned that “if government has any percentage share in the consortium, that it is doomed to die,  but, if it 100 percent owned by private sector, it will succeed”

He said that management is the major tool that determines success of any organization and that telecommunications being driven by technology makes it scope for the future wide.

“The areas they can focus on include broadband services provision, cheaper calls, better quality of services and land line network among others,” he said.

Adeleke stated that the two most important assets of any telecommunications operator are frequency and subscriber base.

“Their major strategy should focus on how to acquire large subscriber base. Telecommunications business is a business of numbers if they want to succeed, they can do this by reviving the cable network and broadband services,” he added.

Also Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMMS), said that reviving NITEL by NATCOM when the deal is completed will ensure broadening of the telecom market, citing the innovative services that Glo and Etisalat introduced when they launched which helped in deepening competition in the industry.

“Now that the industry has fully embraced co-location and operators selling off their towers to infrastructure services providers it will be easier for them to rollout GSM service. Reviving NITEL land line will be a major boost in the broadband penetration effort,” he stated.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said that unless the new owners of NITEL are coming to the market with ideas that are not already in the market they will have to struggle to make impact.

He noted that reviving the land line is not going to be easy going by the fact that they are private investors that will go through approval process of ‘right of way’ as well as vandalization among others challenges associated with fixed network provision in the country.

“NITEL’s existing telecommunications infrastructure are obsolete and may not enhance their rollout plans,” he added.

It would be recalled that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has formally ratified the sales of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited and its subsidiary Mobile Telecommunications Limited to NATCOM Consortium.

The ratification was given at the council’s fourth meeting, presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.