Infrastructure Hi-Tech Services (HIS) a telecommunications infrastructure company, has received the nod of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to be known and styled IHS Nigeria, PLC
The certificate which was issued recently is as a result of IHS enlarged share structure to get listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Preparatory to the listing on the floor of NSE, officials of both IHS and the NSE have held crucial talks.
Mr. Gbenga Onakomaiya, chief commercial officer, IHS, said that the meeting is mandatory for the listing process. "We are tidying up the process to be among the first Telecom Infrastructure company to be listed on the floor of the stock exchange", he said.
The company which was set up in 2001 has been carrying out the business of infrastructure deployment for various telecommunications firms and has been a staunch advocate of collocation in order to drive down prices of telecom services for the utmost benefit of the general public.
Mr. William Saad, managing director, IHS, said that with the concept of building, operating and leasing of sites to operator, IHS is playing a major role in reliving them from the headaches of sites acquisition, providing equipment and infrastructures. "In a nutshell, the CAPEX and OPEX of operators are significantly reduced thus allowing the operators concentrate on other tasks," he said.
Recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has adopted collocation as part of its strategy for telecommunication infrastructure deployment, and it is currently finalizing the process of award of collocation licenses. The new policy of collocation and infrastructure sharing will greatly help the sector and contribute in the reduction of call costs. Rather than build one location per operator, and thus have one operator pay the cost of acquisition, permits, construction, and later operations and maintenance for the many years of utilization, IHS will have several operators collocate and then share the different aspects of cost. "We are currently working on different formula under this model. They all have many advantages to the operators," Saad said.
The company said it is aware of the enormous opportunities in listing on the stock exchange which can bring better rating, awareness, internal procedures, corporate governance, and social responsibility among others.
The company which has seven board members and a consortium of banks to its side said it has set out to building hundreds of sites for collocation across the country.
