‘Narrowband IoT will be experimented with in 2017’ 

Olusola Teniola is the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). In this interview, he highlights the achievements of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and talks about possible solutions to challenges faced in the industry `and what to look forward to in 2017. Excerpts. 

What specific policy area does ATCON think the regulator should focus on in 2017 in order to further strengthen the telecoms industry? 

The focus for 2017 should be in unlocking ‘local content’ in the industry and ensuring a level-playing field exists to bring about increased employment for the growth in the skills set required to generate a digitally transformed industry. The ecosystem will bring about new players from the over the top (OTT) space and regulation that balances the interests of these players versus the investments already made by the telecoms players will need to addressed. The investments required to fund the mobile broadband revolution must be addressed, so all incentives and an enabling environment is put in place by the Federal Government, so that investors’ confidence is not eroded any further.

Do you think 30 per cent broadband penetration is still achievable in Nigeria next year?

Nigeria plans to achieve 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018. Well, with the right policies in place and an enabling environment anything is possible. In 2016, some statistics from Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) suggested a 20.9 per cent) broadband penetration, though this is yet to be verified, it is evident that penetration is skewed in the trendy areas of Lagos, Abuja and piecemeal in Port Harcourt. Any further increase will need to be on the back of infrastructure companies (INFRACO) and other network roll-outs outside these geographical regions to prevent a ‘have against have-not’ landscape occurring.This is the year 2017 when we need to have implementable programs in place to ensure we are on track to achieve the 2013 National Broadband Plan (NBP) of 30 per cent broadband penetration by end of 2018. The industry needs all government agencies in charge of and responsible for infrastructure at state level to work with and support the roll-out of much needed fibre optic metro infrastructure that supports the whole eco-system to deliver on the promises made in the NBP. Furthermore, the industry needs government policies in place that will attract much needed investments to support the capital expenditure programs that needs to be undertaken to realise the country’s vision of a digital transformation (smart cities, e-Government and Internet of Things).

How can the industry, bridge  infrastructure deficit, considering the complaints still coming from subscribers on the intermittent service they sometimes experience? 

Without the tall buildings that exist in other climes in USA, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London (for instance); it is only through more towers housing more BTS that will cover the many black spots present in the network coverage across the diverse terrain that makes up Nigeria that we can reasonably expect to fully resolve ‘drop calls’ for examples and other environmental issues that are an inhibitor to the improvement of QoS. In addition to the 60,000 BTS(s), we also need the infrastructure to be protected from closures, destructions and sabotage.

The NCC is planning to introduce national mobile roaming initiative. Of what significance is this going to be for the industry?

National roaming is a fundamental part of the idea behind sharing active infrastructure and though a new concept in Nigeria, is widely practiced in the UK and other climes where ‘calls are handed over to another network’s cell’ where the signal level doesn’t meet a certain criteria or thresholds. This should aid in ensuring that calls previously dropped are now given a higher percentage of probability of not being dropped if the call is allowed to roam onto another network. We await the final report from NCC to establish the modus of operandi before we can be certain that a level of improvement can be assured by the networks to the consumers in areas where a high level of intermittent issues have been reported.

What do you see happening this year in the areas of Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and big data. How will telcos drive these emerging areas of ICT? 

Narrowband IoT will be experimented with in 2017 by one or two of the incumbent mobile network operators (MNOs). Cloud computing will experience a growth in hybrid cloud computing on the back of more trust being placed in locally built data hosting centers certified to Tier-3 level. Telcos are challenged with Big Data in Nigeria, due to the veracity, validity and verifiable data issues that exist – further partnerships with OTT players may seek to address this.

With increased CAPEX and OPEX, as well as other operational challenges, how can operators survive in Nigeria’s highly-competitive telecoms market?

Adopting a business model that focuses on cost efficiency and creating opportunities for increased differentiation in the services and products that are offered to the target markets.

Last year, most operators launched 4G LTE networks. What impact will this have on the economy? 

The launch of 4G LTE networks in Nigeria, signifies the beginning of high speed internet with speeds over 4Mbps being typical. This opens up further opportunities for more sophisticated services and applications to be developed and utilised by consumers on the move. It also provides a platform for Internet of Things (IoT) and SMART city type devices to be adopted in areas of security, water metering, farming and many other utility applications. This will in effect create new jobs in the economy.

What advice do you have for the NCC on spectrum management in Nigeria? 

The industry seeks further allocation and utilisation of spectra that will contribute to the growth of mobile broadband penetration in rural areas of the country and the options presented at the Spectrum Trading Forum hosted by NCC in 2016 should be explored and implemented in 2017, specifically in consideration of the Nigerian terrain. The migration of analogue TV to digital TV should be a major focus during 2017 and this should free up more broadband-type spectra that will allow high-speed or superfast broadband to be easily rolled out.