The Chairman of the Association of Licenced Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, has expressed concerns over the deteriorating state of telecom infrastructure in Nigeria, citing a lack of investment from operators as the main cause.
Adebayo, who was a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast show, attributed the decline to economic challenges facing the country, which had led to a decrease in investment, resulting in outdated systems, poor quality of service, and inadequate pricing.
The interview, which was recorded and posted on Saturday, highlighted the urgent need for investment in the sector to address the crisis and ensure improved services for consumers.
This is barely two weeks after telecommunications companies, in a statement, stated that they were considering raising their service prices, including voice calls and data, to offset operational costs and address economic challenges.
Operators had also called on the Federal Government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.
Speaking during the interview, the ALTON Chairman said, “If you don’t invest in a sector, you can’t talk about quality of service; you can’t talk about right pricing. The government must help, and the time is now.”
He drew parallels with the energy sector, where a lack of investment in infrastructure has led to decrepit substations and outdated transformers, some of which are 25–30 years old.
He said, “When the people in the energy sector came, they licenced the DisCos, they sold them those companies and all of that, and everybody thought that would solve the problem. The answer is ‘no’ because when the DisCos came, they didn’t invest in infrastructure.
“We don’t want to come to a time where the telecom sector becomes like that,” he emphasised.
“We need to continue to put the right policy and regulation in place to attract investment. It’s only when we attract investment that we can demand a minimum level of performance,” Adebayo explained.
He stressed that leaving operators to solve their problems alone is unacceptable and urged the government to take immediate action to address the crisis.
Meanwhile, investments in the sector decreased to $134m in 2023 from $456.8m in the corresponding year, a decline of $322m.
This is according to the Nigerian Capital Importation 2023, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The decline represents a decrease of approximately 70.5 per cent.
The Nigerian Communications Commission revealed that the country’s telecom industry spent a total of N2.09tn on operational costs in 2022.
As of the end of 2022, the NCC reported that there were 34,862 towers and 127,294 base stations in the country, highlighting the significant investment required to maintain and operate the nation’s telecom infrastructure.
Last week, the President of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Izuagbe, explained to The PUNCH that telcos were running at a loss and may not survive this year should tariffs remain the same.
Izuagbe warned that if urgent action is not taken, many telecom operators may be forced to shut down operations, leaving millions of Nigerians without access to vital communication services.
He emphasised that the current tariff regime is insufficient to cover the costs of providing services, and urged regulatory bodies to address the industry’s challenges and support operators in maintaining the quality of service.