Inadequate infrastructure remains a major obstacle towards Nigeria achieving her full telecommunications potential.
With Nigeria seen as one of the world’s fastest growing telecommunications hubs, meeting the demand for key infrastructure has been identified as a priority.
The successes recorded by the telecommunications industry in the last 11 years have reinforced the internationally acknowledged perception that communications is a powerful, progressive tool of socio-economic development.
Unfortunately, telecommunications sector, arguably the only thriving sector of Nigerian economy hobbled by years of mismanagement and neglect is burdened by multiple regulations as all tiers of government see the industry as a milk cow.
The challenges of multiple regulations and by extension taxation faced by the communications industry has existed and been ventilated severally over the years.
The phenomenon limits the ability of telecommunications as an economic enabler and social overhead capital to impact positively on the attainment of the country’s developmental goals.
Network operators have continued to witness harassment, forcibly sealing of telecoms sites or removing components of site installations in their bid to compel compliance.
These lead to inappropriate regulatory intervention, as the MDAs resort to extra-legal means to enforce such interventions. As noted earlier, MDA employ coercive means such as facility lock-outs to enforce compliance by telecommunications operators.
Operators are denied access to such sites for refuelling, maintenance or fault resolution, leading to congestion and other quality of service deficiencies. Indeed, to ensure that operators feel the squeeze, it is the case that the agents of the MDAs ‘go for the jugular’ by targeting Hub Sites to which anywhere between 20 to 100 or more sites are parented.
This effectively paralyses a good section of the network, causing complete network outage for the affected communities over an area that could stretch across as many as 2 or more adjoining States with quality of service deficiencies across a much wider area.
The incidence of multiple regulation or taxation invariably constitutes illegal and inappropriate taxation and legislation.
The twin issues (multiple regulation and taxation) fall squarely with Government which is in the best position to address same.
That is why we are happy that the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology has taken the lead in addressing the constraints to the installation, rollout and deployment of base stations and fibre optic cable starting with Lagos state.
We believe that this singular show of visionary leadership by ministry under Mrs. Omobola Johnson will spur socio-economic development including further job creation, security and quality of service provisioning.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek also commends Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos state for agreeing to address the issues of taxes, levies, decommissioned sites and Right of Way fees militating against quality of service in the state.
As Fashola noted good infrastructure rollout and deployment are in the best interest of residents of Lagos State, making very much needed infrastructure and capacity available.
But in brokering the meeting, Johnson has shown leadership and the much needed intervention to ventilate the industry.
It is a clear sign that Johnson is well cut-out for the job as the minister of Communications Technology.
We however enjoin the ministry to also reach out to other state governments and MDAs which are still hostile to telecommunications industry.
That said, members of Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) must make sure that there is a standardized approach for excavating roads where no ducts existed.
More than anything else, we commend Johnson for job well done.