Telecom
Strong Corporate Governance, Ethics are at the Heart of MainOne’s Success – Abimbola
In this interview, MainOne’s Chief Financial Officer, Solanke Abimbola discusses the company’s success over the past decade, expansion plans and projections for 2021 while noting that adherence to corporate governance principles and ethics have been key to the company.
MainOne celebrated its 10 anniversary this year, and the company has been recognized for the leadership role it has played in the expansion of Internet access in Nigeria. What are your projections for the ICT industry and MainOne in 2021?
We are pleased that for a company that is only ten years in operation, we have had such impact on Internet access across the West African region. In 2021, we anticipate that more people will migrate online, businesses will adopt cloud-based solutions to improve operational efficiency and data consumption per capita will increase, resulting in the growth of infrastructure requirements.
To meet the increase in demand across the various market segments, we are expanding our terrestrial fiber footprint across the region and we are making additional data center investments including the expansion of our MDXi facility in Lekki, Lagos, and construction of a new data center facility in Appolonia City, Accra Ghana which will be ready for service in the first quarter of 2021. In addition, we expect to continue to see increased growth and investments in the start-up and innovation ecosystem which are driving locally relevant content and applications.
One of the factors that has distinguished MainOne over the years is the kind of products it brings to the market. What are the recent products you have developed, and what philosophy underlies product development at MainOne?
Our strategy remains enabling businesses and retail ISPs in the West African region with broadband infrastructure solutions to serve their end users and customers. This is built on the significant investments we have made in building out world class infrastructure across the West African region, whether via our Connectivity, Colocation, Cloud or Managed services.
We are a company of many firsts and most recently we announced the launch of the first locally available Microsoft Azure Peering Service in West Africa. This service provides enterprises using Microsoft Cloud services with a secure high-performance experience relative to what is currently available in the market.
What should we expect from MainOne with your new investments in data centers in Nigeria and Ghana?
We want to continue to consolidate our leadership position in the data center space across West Africa. In addition to our existing facilities, the new facilities will also be carrier neutral secure facilities which will allow customers the capacity and flexibility to adapt to market changes especially during these challenging times of a Pandemic and recession.
The data centers provide the highest quality of services to allow our colocated customers run their businesses online with 24X7 operation of a data center. They cater to the increasing demand for colocation and interconnection services we are experiencing from multinationals and local businesses seeking shared services facilities for their ICT resources in world class facilities.
The success of MainOne in the last decade is predicated on its Corporate Governance stance. What is your position on the Accounting Separation Framework (ASF) directive issued by the NCC this year?
MainOne has built a strong reputation of good Corporate Governance and take pride in our compliance practices. We have worked with our regulator’s directives on Corporate Governance and hold ourselves out as a role model and advocate for Nigerian companies in our industry. We think the ASF initiative by the NCC is laudable and long overdue to enhance fair competition in Nigeria’s telecom industry but only if the guidelines are transparent, objectively applied, and implemented.
Have you had issues with reporting your financials in the past, and how have your stakeholders responded to issue of disclosure?
MainOne is a private company but we have an open record of compliance with all our statutory filing obligations since inception with the various relevant agencies including Federal and State Tax agencies, the Corporate Affairs Commission, NCC and also the FRC among others. We have had no issues with reporting our financial statements in the past and we have consistently disclosed information to both shareholders and regulators when required. Of course, as a private company we do not publish our financial information in the public domain.
MainOne is administered from its headquarters (in Lagos), but the company is not solely a Nigerian company. How are the component units administered?
MainOne is a multi-national company, with our Group holding company registered in Mauritius. The group includes subsidiary companies in the various countries in which we operate including Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Portugal. Our Group operational headquarters is based in Lagos Nigeria and the company is also majority owned by Nigerian investors. We are proud to be a Nigerian owned multi-national company.
What is your stance with respect to regulations, policies and corporate governance in the countries where you operate?
MainOne conducts its business in an ethical manner and one of our core values is integrity. Our business is focused on doing well and doing good as Africans for Africa in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations in countries in which we operate. Obeying the law, both in letter and in spirit, and ensuring regulatory compliance is a critical performance measure for the entire company and an area in which we have performed well.
We have invested significantly in regulatory and compliance frameworks and ensuring that we adopt international best practices in meeting all compliance requirements.
What are your expansion plans for 2021? Any plans for Cameroon? Any challenges on the road there?
In 2021, we plan to explore further opportunities to expand in Francophone West Africa e.g. Niger and Mali, while we continue to drive plans to further expand in our existing countries i.e. Nigeria (Lagos), Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.
In Burkina Faso, we have partnered with the World Bank to provide bulk connectivity services to a consortium of operators through the PAV – Burkina Cooperative.
With regards to Cameroon, we have extended our submarine cable to Kribi and partnered with Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation (CAMTEL) to accelerate broadband access and expedite penetration in that country and into neighboring Central African countries.
In the past, issues with taxation and Right-of-Way clearances encumbered broadband deployment, especially in Nigeria. Have they all been resolved? What has changed in the last half decade?
Major improvements have been made in the region especially in the last couple of years with regards to Right of Way challenges. However, there are still some lingering issues. Early this year, Ekiti and Kaduna State governments reduced the cost of Right of Way charges and several other states followed suit.
We believe these moves will help accelerate the deployment of fast and efficient infrastructure in these states though these conditions are not sufficient for the level of investment required.
Challenges remain in terms of infrastructure sharing arrangements and also the need for policy consistency over time that will encourage companies to make these long-term investments. As soon as we tackle these issues effectively, we will be able to realize our vision to diversify from oil and create a digital economy.
Tell us about the developmental impact of your services. What have you seen change in the lives of people and organisations as a result of your services?
Our biggest achievement to date is building the pioneering international backbone that reduced the cost of connecting our region to the Internet by orders of magnitude thus enabling access for our citizens.
We have provided wholesale Internet services to over 10 West African countries and Internet penetration in our region has grown from less than 10% to approximately 40% today.
Today, we have 6 cables landing in Nigeria and the country is ranked 7th globally in terms of Internet population. In addition, we have played a major role in enabling the start-up ecosystem in Nigeria which is now ranked #1 in sub-Saharan Africa and which has relied on the critical technologies we have deployed to drive their business models.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has asked the Court of Appeal to suspend the enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).
WASPAN warned that the implementation before the determination of its appeal could expose telecom value-added service providers to sanctions and disrupt their operations.
Millions of subscribers across the country rely on borrowed airtime to communicate.
Seun Sofoluwe, an Abeokuta, Ogun State resident, said another interruption would have severe consequences for many Nigerians who depend on airtime and data lending services for their daily communication needs.
“A lot of people depend on the services, and it will be very bad for them, especially those who are so reliant on it that they do debt-to-debt servicing,” he said.
Debt-to-debt servicing refers to the practice of repaying an outstanding airtime loan immediately to qualify for another advance, underscoring the extent to which some subscribers depend on the facility to remain connected.
Sofoluwe’s concerns echo the experience of Lagos-based employee Farouk Rabiu, who recounted the hardship caused by the six-month suspension of airtime lending services before they were restored.
“I was devastated because, after exhausting my data, I was hoping to borrow credit to access my bank account. Instead, it was a major disappointment,” Rabiu had said after the services resumed.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the earlier disruption showed that airtime credit had evolved far beyond a conventional telecommunications offering.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
WASPAN, which represents licensed value-added service providers, has asked the Court of Appeal to restrain the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations pending the hearing of its appeal against the July 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The association argued that immediate enforcement would expose operators to sanctions, create regulatory uncertainty and disrupt telecom-enabled services, including airtime credit and data advances, used daily by millions of Nigerians.
The FCCPC, however, has defended the resumption of enforcement, insisting the regulations are intended to sanitise the digital lending industry, curb predatory debt recovery practices, protect consumer data and eliminate illegal digital lenders.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether enforcement of the regulations should remain suspended while it considers WASPAN’s appeal, a decision that could shape the future of telecom-based digital lending services and determine whether subscribers continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to airtime and data credit.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have entered into a partnership to deploy renewable energy solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in rural and underserved communities, a move expected to reduce operators’ energy costs and improve network availability.
Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner for Technical Services at the NCC, disclosed this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Abuja.
According to Oshadami, the NCC-REA Stakeholder Forum and MoU signing ceremony will enable telecom base stations located near mini-grids to access cleaner and more affordable electricity, reducing their reliance on diesel-powered generators.
He said the agreement came at a time when telecom operators are facing rising operational costs due to increased spending on diesel to power network sites amid unreliable electricity supply from the national grid.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between the power and telecommunications sectors, as both rely on each other to deliver essential services.
Oshadami explained that while telecom infrastructure requires a steady power supply to remain operational, digital connectivity also supports electricity services such as smart metering, electronic payments and remote customer management.
According to him, the collaboration is aimed at improving access to reliable electricity and telecommunications services, particularly in remote communities where inadequate power supply has slowed digital inclusion.
He said both agencies had identified telecom base stations located within one to two kilometres of existing mini-grids, allowing the implementation of the initiative to begin immediately.
“Where mini-grids exist, we are able to identify nearby base stations and connect them to those power sources,” Oshadami said.
He added that future mini-grid projects would be planned with telecommunications infrastructure in mind, ensuring that electricity investments also support the expansion of digital services.
Airtel Nigeria has secured a fresh 10-year renewal of its spectrum licence from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reinforcing the telecom operator’s long-term commitment to expanding broadband connectivity and improving digital access across the country.
The renewed licence covers Airtel’s spectrum holdings, which are critical to the delivery of voice and high-speed data services, providing regulatory certainty for continued investments in network expansion, capacity upgrades and improved customer experience.
According to the company, the renewal underscores confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and will support its ongoing efforts to bridge the country’s digital divide by extending quality connectivity to more underserved communities.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, Airtel Africa, said the renewal provides the company with the confidence to continue investing in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
He said, “The spectrum renewal reaffirms our long-term commitment to Nigeria, our largest market. It gives us the certainty required to continue investing in network expansion, improve service quality and accelerate digital inclusion for millions of Nigerians.”
Taldar added that Airtel remains focused on expanding broadband access and supporting Nigeria’s digital economy agenda through sustained investments in telecommunications infrastructure.
He further said, “We appreciate the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Government for their continued support in creating an enabling environment for investment. We remain committed to delivering reliable and affordable connectivity while contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.”
Meanwhile, Industry observers said the licence renewal removes regulatory uncertainty and allows Airtel to pursue long-term capital investments, including the expansion of 4G and 5G networks, as demand for mobile data and digital services continues to grow across Nigeria.
The renewal comes as telecom operators continue to invest heavily in broadband infrastructure to meet rising data consumption and support government efforts to achieve Universal digital access.
Furthermore, It also aligns with the NCC’s objective of ensuring efficient spectrum management while encouraging sustained private sector investment in the country’s telecommunications industry.
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