Over-Regulation of Telecoms Detrimental to All Sectors- ALTON

Access to telecommunication is access to global world, life and prosperity as proven by various studies, said Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

He added that a nation’s economic development depends on its overall progress in the ICTs sector and companies that use ICT grow faster, more productive and more profitable than those that do not.

Adebayo who chaired NITRA’s recent seminar on the ‘Impact of Over-Regulation of Telecoms Industry on Service Quality’, theme of a quarterly seminar organised by the Nigeria Information and Communications Technology Reporters' Association (NITRA), decried Government’s inability to curtail the excesses of its agencies who clamp down on telecoms infrastructure, particularly, on revenue generation drives.

The ALTON Chairman described over - regulation as the excessive application of various rules and regulations.

“When you regulate technology, you regulate the base / bottom line infrastructure, (i.e. GSM, LTE against, CDMA against Fibre and Fixed Network) when you regulate service your regulate the content and over the top service such as Phone call and text messages over the internet, Facebook, Yahoo, Whattsapp BB messenger and the like).

“While under regulation will lead the chaos and high security risks, over regulation will limit the use and application of dynamics of modern technology and also limit access to global trade and knowledge.  We must continue to debate these issues in order to guarantee the sustainability of our technology development

Regulation of the Telecommunication Industry
“ALTON recognizes that there are indeed genuine concerns over the implications of the operations of not only telecommunications operators, but also all major players in other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

“In demonstration of its pivotal responsibility in this regard, ALTON has given its full support to the NCC in the establishment of the Guidelines on the Technical Standards for the Installation of various Telecommunications Infrastructure, and we have given and will continue to give and make professional representation and input to several other agencies of Government both at the Federal and State level, and ALTON will continue to ensure the establishment of, and adherence to the highest possible standards of best practices.

“We fully understand concerns regarding the growth of telecommunications infrastructure and their environmental footprint and have sought to address these concerns in partnership with operators and other industry bodies.

“We however believe there is a need to balance these concerns with the need to ensure efficient service provision and counsel that the development of the appropriate regulatory framework can only be achieved through the auspices of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA). Such a framework will engender the sustainability of the environment while developing telecommunications Infrastructure for the continued socio-economic growth of Nigeria through the provision of world class services to Nigerians.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 130 of the NCA (which specifically provides that the NCC shall specify and publish to the general public, the technical code and specifications in respect of communications equipment and facilities that may be used in Nigeria) and other sections of the NCA, the NCC has articulated Guidelines for the Technical Installation of Masts and Towers (the NCC’s Guidelines) as well and the harmonised standards and rates for right of way for laying of communications duct across the Country”.

He said that, as players, ALTON members will continue to ensure full compliance with all applicable Guidelines, which assure the continuous safety of our installations, and the environment where we operate.

“As it would be noted, Base Stations are required to transmit and receive radio signals from mobile phones and other wireless devices. Without a Base Station in the subscriber’s vicinity, it would be impossible to make or receive calls and maintain the call as the subscriber moves or drives around.

“We do not have enough base station across the country so there is the need to continue to build more, we do not have enough hinterland fiber across the country there is the need to build more and overregulation can limit this growth; this explains in path while the cost of bandwidth between Lagos and London (over 600 miles away) is far cheaper than cost of bandwidth between Lagos and Ilorin Kwara State which is less than 400 kilometers away.

“We therefore need to remove all bottlenecks in the way of securing right of way and permits amongst others in other to provide better access, achieve the desired national broadband objectives of 30% penetration by 2018 and provide affordable services accord the country.

“Today, regulation in the name of revenue generation is a major hindrance to the satiability of the telecom industry and a threat to our broadband penetration objections as well as the entire vision 202020 objectives of the Government”.

The ALTON Chairman also cautioned against the recurring cases of fibre cuts on network affecting signaling & transmission links across the country.

“Indiscriminate vandalisation and sabotage of sites by some MDAs who often claim to regulate, collect levies and permits from operators but provide no further protection for such infrastructure.

“These interventions considerably increase the lead time to roll out, inflate costs of deploying infrastructure and depreciate network quality.   The interference of the MDAs has created a wide infrastructural gap that leads to the poor quality of services being experience by subscribers.

“We advocate the continuous debate on whether we should regulate technology or service.

Stakeholders must eliminate and remove all barriers to telecom operations and development,” he said.