Nigeria’s four major mobile operators have been advised to invest more in the 3G technology space to drive further growth, seeing that voice is gradually getting saturated.
Alex Dadson, senior director, Business Development (West Africa), of Qualcomm noted that deploying more 2G networks at this stage of telecom development in the country does not make economic sense.
“The future of telecom is in data and in this sphere; we have seen the gradual migration and adoption of 3G technology by all the operators, which is a good development. But there is also a trend of first implementing 2G network infrastructure before migrating to 3G by some operators. I think that doesn’t really make economic sense,” said Dadson.
He noted that although Nigeria still lags behind South Africa, Egypt and Morocco in terms of data traffic in the continent, migration to the 3G infrastructure will greatly enhance data intake in the country and facilitate business-to-business transactions.
On the continued failing quality of service (QoS) by operators in the Nigerian market space, Dadson noted that Qualcomm has the technology to help operators implement seamless services.
“We do have the technology to drive high quality of service in the country. Qualcomm is a solution provision company, but you have sought our services,” he stated.
Dadson also noted that the continued failure of code division multiple access (CDMA), operators in the country is not a failure of technology, but rather a failure of ‘failed business module application.’
He stated further that they would only do well if they invest in the right technology. “If you don’t spend money, you don’t make money.”
Citing American operator Verizon Wireless, as a standard example of a successful CDMA operator that rules the North American market,
Dadson stated that Nigerian CDMA operators need to invest more in infrastructure and remodel their businesses not be in competition with GSM networks.
“First, they would need to redefine what business model they (CDMA operators) want to adopt. It could be as simple as what services do people and businesses in Lagos prefer and you go ahead to meet the needs of the people and businesses in Lagos. If your services are not meeting needs of the people, there is no way you would stay afloat in business,” he stated.
Looking ahead five years into the Nigerian mobile market, Dadson said: “Smartphones and other devices like tablets will drive 3G penetration and adoption. There is already a convergence of the PC and smartphones/mobile devices, so more people prefer their tablets or smartphones since they could still meet their office demands on the go. The future is in smartphones.”
Qualcomm is also implementing what it calls the Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD), a corporate social investment drive aimed at increasing youth app innovation in the region.
“What we do with the QRD is to fund projects that enable ICT education, innovation and research. This way, we try to encourage innovation among young graduates and budding entrepreneurs to increase their intellectual capabilities. We want to encourage these young persons and promote adoption of smartphones in designs. It is also a vehicle to encourage local app development,” he stated.