Telecom
Poor QoS Persists 19 Years after GSM Revolution
It will be 19 years this August since the introduction of the Digital Mobile Communications services popularly referred to as GSM in Nigeria.
The acceptance and growth rate among the Nigerian populace has had serious and great latent of enhancing the communication.
Today, GSM phones beep in almost every palm, pocket, handbags, offices, parties, school hostels, beer parlors, every nook and cranny of the country.
Aside the availability of telephony, the revolution also ended the monopoly enjoyed by Nitel and introduced competition by the various operators.
Quality of service has not however kept pace with the burgeoning development in the telecom industry. It is much worse now than seven years ago when the revolution began.
There are still complaints of bills for undelivered messages, charge for dropped calls , which increase the revenues operators but leave deep holes in the pockets of subscribers
Equally, they complained that Internet service remained a challenge, just as much as uploading and downloading.
As a matter of fact, all the telecom operators exhibit grave deficiencies in their service delivery from small to dominant operators.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Association Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMMS), blamed poor quality of service on inadequate base stations in the country.
Ogunbanjo said that United Kingdom with population less than Nigeria has over 60, 000 base stations while base stations in Nigeria is still under 30,000.
He added that issues around ‘Right of Way’ approvals and closure of base stations by state government agencies have also impacted negatively on the quality of service being delivered by telecommunications operators.
“There is need for more stakeholders’ engagement between Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), telecommunications operators and state governments to resolve socio-economic factors that are frustrating operators in deploying infrastructure for improved quality of service.
“Operators need to build more base stations to improve capacity of their network with digital radio equipment,” Ogunbanjo said.
In clear terms, operators lack capacity to meet the demand of subscribers and they have no apologies for that.
Operators blame high cost of doing business, rising insecurity and widespread cases of theft of their vital equipment and so on for worsening quality of service.
They also point at forced relocation of hundreds of kilometers of fibre optic cables as a result of road works as well as difficult access to sites and community relations troubles.
Myke Offili, general manager commercial, Coloplus, telecommunications collocation services provider, agreed that network congestion is responsible for the poor telecommunications services been experienced by subscribers as pressure is on the network at the same time.
He stressed the need for operators to expand their network through making available additional spectrum to them in line with ATCON position.
He urged government to address the high cost of deploying network infrastructure as well intensify effort in educating the public on the impact of technology contrary to on-going misinformation about certain technology at the market place.
Elsewhere, Oladipo Raji, group managing director, InfraFocus Technologies, attributed the poor network services to congestion of the network as a lot of people are accessing the network at the same time.
“This means that we don’t have adequate capacity on the network. Everywhere in the world there are always two networks mobile and fixed networks delivering mobile and fixed data services, but in Nigeria we have put the two networks together and into one operator through universal licensing regime where GSM operators delver mobile and fixed data from one network hence the congestion.
“If we had encouraged ISPs to deliver fixed data at home and offices while GSM operators deliver mobile data we would not have been in this situation. It is time for NCC to correct this mistake and segregate the market by licensing ISPs to deliver internet to homes and offices by this, jobs will be created as well,” he said.
Telecom
Celebrating African Creativity: Made by Africa, Loved by the World’ Returns for Its Fifth Year
The “Made by Africa, Loved by the World” campaign is back for its fifth year, celebrating African creativity and global influence. This year’s theme, “Where Culture Meets Connection,” highlights how social media fosters conversations around cultural moments worldwide.
The campaign features three cinematic films premiering on the Meta Africa page, showcasing the groundbreaking work and personal stories of six dynamic African creatives.
These artists, from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, represent diverse disciplines, including rap, animation, dance, photography, fashion, and videography.
Here are some of the featured talents:
- Ladipoe (Nigeria) – A BET-nominated rapper known for blending global hip-hop with African rhythms.
- Fatboy Animations (Kenya) – An animation studio founded by Michael Muthiga, recognized by Forbes for its original African storytelling.
- Lisa Quama (Ghana) – A dancer who gained fame after appearing in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video.
- Gilbert Asante (Ghana) – A photographer and creative director featured in GQ and Glam Africa.
- David Tlale (South Africa) – A fashion designer whose bold designs have been showcased at major fashion events, including the Met Gala.
- Ofentse Mwase (South Africa) – A filmmaker with over 24 international awards for his unique visual storytelling.
Kezia Anim-Addo, Communications Director for Africa, Middle East & Turkey, emphasized that the campaign not only celebrates individual success stories but also showcases how culture and social media drive meaningful connections and inspiration.
Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has raised the alarm over a diesel supply crisis caused by an ongoing strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
Mr Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON in a statement said that the fuel supply disruption is critically affecting telecom base stations, pushing them to the brink of a shutdown and threatening millions of mobile and internet users in the region.
“This strike, which stems from the persistent harassment of tanker and petroleum product drivers by police officers in Lagos State, has effectively halted all truck loading operations and fuel movements,” Emoekpere stated.
He explained that diesel supply to telecom infrastructure has been severely impacted, leaving critical sites with dangerously low fuel levels.
According to him, if urgent measures are not taken, the situation could escalate into a full-blown network blackout, disrupting essential services, including mobile and internet access, business operations, emergency response systems, and daily communications.
ATCON has called on the governors of Lagos and Ogun states to intervene immediately by facilitating the release of diesel from depots to telecom operators to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
“This is not just a telecom issue—it is a national emergency that could cripple economic activities and compromise public safety,” Emoekpere stressed.
The association also appealed to security agencies and petroleum unions to resolve the crisis swiftly to safeguard Nigeria’s connectivity and economic stability.
ATCON emphasised that a prolonged disruption in fuel supply to telecom infrastructure could have far-reaching consequences for both businesses and individuals who rely on stable communication networks for daily operations.
In 2023, Nigerians spent a total of about ₦5.3 trillion on telecommunications services, which includes calls, data, SMS, and other telecom services, according to the Leadership.
Specifically for voice calls, Nigerians made approximately 408.5 billion minutes of local calls, generating around ₦3.28 trillion from outgoing calls and ₦3.23 trillion from incoming calls, totaling about ₦6.51 trillion in call-related revenue according to projections based on 2023 call volumes and tariff data.
However, the ₦5.3 trillion figure represents the overall telecom sector revenue, with voice calls being a major component but also including data and other services.
For individual spending, MTN subscribers spent an average of ₦2,508 monthly on voice calls in 2023, showing a 14.4% increase from 2022, while Airtel customers spent about ₦1,694 monthly on voice calls.
Total telecom spending (calls, data, SMS, etc.): ₦5.3 trillion in 2023
Estimated revenue from voice calls alone: around ₦6.5 trillion based on call minutes and tariffs
Average monthly spending on calls per subscriber: ₦1,694 to ₦2,508 depending on the network
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