Protecting Telecom Infrastructure for Quality of Service

The importance of telecommunications in the national life of the country cannot be over-emphasized.

There is virtually no aspect of the ever changing economic landscape of the new digital world that telecommunications is not playing active role to enhance its service delivery, be it financial, education, agriculture, and health among others.

For telecommunications services to be delivered require building of infrastructure upon which voice, data and video services are delivered to subscribers.

In most countries, transmission infrastructure for telecommunications services such as fibre cable links and power supply are built and provided by the government, but in Nigeria case, operators are building the required infrastructure for effective service delivery.

 It is indubitable fact that public power supply is almost none existence that forced operators to use generating sets to power their base stations.

 Regrettably, this infrastructure has consistently become target of vandals, thieves and road construction efforts without recourse to its effect on quality of service delivery.

Against this backdrop, stakeholders in the industry are seeking for a legislation to make telecom infrastructure critical national infrastructure for it to be protected by law.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the industry suffers with any minor errors (technical faults, accidents, vandalisation, data recording errors, etc.) that can alter, disrupt or block the system processes unintentionally.

These disruptions not only disconnect subscribers, but could cause embarrassment to businesses and national security.

Emeka Oparah, vice president, corporate communications/corporate social responsibility at Airtel Nigeria said vandalisation of the telecom service equipment are regular occurrences. He cited the example of base station in Abia state where Airtel Nigeria lost four generators to the vandals.

The state has over the years gained notoriety for unfriendliness to the telecommunications infrastructure.

It took a more dangerous dimension in 2010 when six hapless telecommunications maintenance workers were killed in Aba, the commercial hub of the State.

The workers, members of the MTN workgroup which included two policemen were said to have gone to carry out maintenance operation at a base transmission station in Aba.
There are other challenges in the telecom sector that are inimical to investment which need to be addressed if the country will attract the desired massive investment that is coming into the ICT sector of the country’s economy.

Some of these challenges according to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton), could hinder the sustenance of the growth, if they are not nipped in the bud.

He listed some of the challenges as multiple regulation, government interference in telecom matters, multiple taxations, insufficient broadband rollout in the industry, security of infrastructure, and quality of service, inadequate power supply, and state of access roads, among others.

Adebayo called for the scrapping of all forms of levies and fees charges by various agencies of government on ‘right of way’ approvals, insisting that they are all inimical to a true regulatory framework in any society.

He also explained that capacity building is critical for the sustenance of telecom development and that more effort is needed from government to ensure that the technical manpower requirements for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry were met.

This, he said, was traceable to challenge in the socio-economic environment and the guaranteed minimum quality of lives and that the industry was loosing a number of highly trained personnel to other countries with less potential, but with better social security and standard of living and economic values, better healthcare, better education guarantees for their children, better security of lives and property as well as quality of living.

He reiterated the fact that telecommunications in Nigeria remained the most functional and reliable public social infrastructure, while calling on stakeholders to continue to do the needful to sustain the growth and stability of the telecom sector of the economy through the provision of enabling environment for investors both local and foreign.

The sector today requires massive inflow of private investment for infrastructure upgrade and expansion.

 He stressed the need for government to provide the right environment that will attract serious investors which include protecting telecom infrastructure.

A study published by Technology Strategies International in partnership with BroadGroup TMT Ventures says that one of the things fuelling the growth in the Nigerian ICT sector is the imminent illumination of two undersea cables, which will increase international bandwidth dramatically.

“The improvement in international connectivity will have a major impact on business in Nigeria," Christie Christelis, President of Technology Strategies International said.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is still huge latent demand for mobile phone services, added Christelis.

“Operators in Nigeria are experiencing similar challenges to operators in other emerging economies, with declining ARPUs as the subscriber base broadens to include poorer segments. But companies such as MTN have demonstrated that even at ARPU levels of $12 - and declining - astute operators are able to make above superior margins,” he said.

Christelis noted that there is huge momentum behind the growth, and even through the global financial crisis investors have managed to source funds for good investment opportunities in Nigeria.

Key opportunity areas identified in the report include expanding the reach of the undersea cables, building out mobile infrastructure, turning investments into fixed wireless infrastructure into sustainable businesses, expanding the retail network for mobile, fixed wireless and internet services, and in electronics manufacturing.

Christelis said that the Nigerian Government is particularly keen to promote an indigenous electronics manufacturing and is doing much to attract investor interest.
Christelis warns, however, that the Nigerian ICT sector is complex and investors must give due consideration to the characteristics of the Nigerian market when evaluating business plans.

The fact that the market is liberalized, and hence very competitive in certain segments, provides some safeguards to investors.

In fact, the ten year of telecom sector reform has brought about substantial private sector investment, increase in the number of market players, unprecedented growth in the network, expanded geographic coverage, empowerment of citizenry, employment creation and economic stimulus which should not be allowed to erode as a result of activities of unscrupulous Nigerians whose stock in trade is theft and vandalisation of telecom infrastructure.