Nigeria - Regulator has called for operators to reduce prices and increase quality of service

[leadership] Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah has called on major telecom operators and vendors in Nigeria to improve on their current investments in the various networks so as to achieve better quality of service and price reduction.

Speaking at the just concluded Mobile Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, Juwah stated that telecom operators in the country needed to invest more resources in their networks to improve on the quality of services being delivered to Nigerians.

"Apart from quality of service, we need to see the operators reduce prices far more than they are doing at the moment. It appears the reductions are currently based on special packages. We don't think that is enough. We want to see reductions that affect the subscribers generally, and we think it is about time that the operators do something so that we don't have to introduce other measures that will be drastic to achieve that", he said.

He advised the operators to take a cue on investments from other operators around the world that are present at the congress with a view to deepening their investments in the country to achieve the twin desirable solutions of right quality at the right price.



Juwah who also received the commendations of the Secretary General of the ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, said the Commission was ready to collaborate with the ITU in whatever way possible to ensure the realisation of the broadband vision for the benefit of the Nigeria and its citizens. He said the Commission would need the assistance of the ITU which has enormous recourses including human recourses.

"It is something that we want to deploy to change the face of ICT in Nigeria, and to reduce the digital divide between us and the developed world an also to revive our fixed line services", he said. He informed the ITU boss that while international consultants are looking at the approaches to this, the Commission was going to adopt the "Open Access" model which he said, might become the African continent model because of its wide acceptance in other parts of the world.

While commending NCC's plans, the ITU boss said its Bureau of Telecom Development would come to provide the credibility desired to make the programme realisable in Nigeria.

"I commend your initiatives. I have been following all that you have been doing. Since you took over, you recognised that a lot have been done. And you are moving now, shifting the entire thing to a new paradigm. Let's do it together. Your success is my success. We will help you to do it because we really have a common interest here. Let's do it and showcase it", Toure said.

Toure said he was pleased that NCC has chosen to move broadband to the centre of development. "Broadband will, therefore, be a toll for all our development, a tool for e-education, a tool for e-health, a tool for e-irrigation, a tool for commerce, a tool for governance. It is not an end on itself but a means to an end. Our challenge is how we move technology to achieve these objectives, for the continent. It demands an effective regulatory framework and I am sure that the Commission has the right approach," he said.

NCC Wants Telecom Operators to Cut Tariff