Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton), the umbrella body of telecom operators has commissioned a study on the socio-economic impact of telecom operations in the country, in the first attempt to capture the contribution of the sector to the economy, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
In the absence of reliable statistics, the profound impact of telecommunications in the economy is usually measured at best in estimates.
Alton’s decision to commission the study may not be unconnected with the views of some participants at the recent stakeholders’ roundtable on protection of ICT infrastructure organized by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek and Alton where operators were asked to do more to highlight the benefits and importance of their operations to both the economy and social life.
Either as an expression of religious hatred or caused by people who think it is funny to damage peoples’ property, participants believe raising awareness will play a vital role in protecting the infrastructure from vandalism.
“Some Nigerians see operators in another light, the first thing they think about the huge profits forgetting the roles telecommunications services play in their families’ and business lives” Dickson Eze, a participant at the workshop stated.
Ernest Ndukwe, former executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) said Nigerians must be made to understand the importance of telecom infrastructure and the need for them to protect them.
Last month’s coordinated attacks on ICT infrastructure in some northern states point to the apparent misconception of a few Nigerians of the services rendered by the operators.
Harrison Odogwu, chief superintendent of Police said that “instead of protecting the infrastructure which is like water and electricity is to life and business, some Nigerians see them as threat”.
Aside terrorism attacks there have been several other attacks in different parts of the country on telecommunications infrastructure such as base stations and optic fibre.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that telecommunications companies in Nigeria spend some $90 million annually in repairs of fibre network cut by activities of government contractors building roads and vandals.
Fiber optic cables are major building blocks in the telecommunication infrastructure because of their high bandwidth capabilities.
But the damage being done to the telecommunications infrastructure is hampering efforts to provide robust ICT services.
Operators also warn that if urgent measures are not taken by government and other regulatory authorities, about $25 billion investments recorded in the sector so far will be seriously affected.
As it is today, Nigeria still lacks major infrastructure and cannot afford preventable damages of its facilities as a result of government neglect and security lapses.
In its reaction, Nigerian Communications Commission has sponsored a bill at the national Assembly seeking that telecommunications infrastructure be accorded the status of a critical national infrastructure to be protected by the law.
Alton’s effort is however the best foot forward because it will not only document the development but also show the impact of telecommunications operations in different sectors of the economy, such as education, banking, social life, job creation among others.
The study is also expected to outline the various corporate social responsibility initiatives of telecommunications operators and their benefactors.