Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and  managing director of Communications Network Support Services Limited (CNSSL) a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), operator in the telecommunications sector is a thoroughbred telecom engineer.
His career started from Siemens Germany where he spent 19 years before relocating to the country to assume the post of General Manager of VGC Communications.
When the Company was bought by MTN Nigeria, he founded CNSSL to support services to telecommunications operators which also included Call Centre management.
Adebayo spoke to chike onwuegbuchi on issues around quality of service and BPO operation in the country.

Quality of Service, Regulations and Protection of Telecom Infrastructure
The industry has done well. In particular, when we look at the service provision and the value the industry has brought to the ecosystem, it has done fairly-well.
Looking at job creation and employment opportunities, supports to small and medium enterprises and to other sectors of the economy, contribution to the GDP and FDI, the telecom sector is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria.
The telecom is in the forefront of taking Nigeria to the group of industrialized nations as we work towards vision 20:2020. In summary, the industry will continue to do well in-spite of the local challenges.
The industry is one of the few in the country that have brought value to the socio-economic development.

States Hostile to Providers in Terms of Regulations
There are few States that are in exception of being hostile to telecom operators. Majority of them, from the South to East, West and North; it is basically the same thing. Few are in exception, for example Lagos.

The Governor has shown some good examples that others should emulate. It is not just by reducing the charges on Right of Way (RoW) approval.

In the area of providing the enabling environment that operators require to deploy critical infrastructure, the State leads.

Also, there are efforts by the State Government to protect telecom infrastructure which is well commended. So, with the exception of Lagos, Edo and Kwara, others have not joined the trend of telecom revolution.

I put it that way, because once you allow telecom to blossom you have activated that economy. Meanwhile, it behooves on us, the operators to win the interests of those States that are hostile, but they have to show the desire.

They need to see the future socio-economic benefits of telecom more than the immediate internally generated revenue in telecom provisions. Therefore, there should be continuous engagement.

I am glad the Minister of Communications Technology has ignited the drive towards declaring telecom infrastructure as critical public assets; her efforts at the Federal Executive Council that led to the constituting of the National Broadband Council which comprises of all State Commissioners related to ICT, and so many other initiatives is commendable.

I am hoping that we will start reaping from the efforts that were made in 2013 and years ago. Lagos is a very good testimony and I am hoping we will have more of such within the first and second quarter of 2014.

Sanctions to Soften Hostile States
I think sanctions do not often help. We are engaging stakeholders at all levels. We have held meetings with different States to discuss some issues they raise concerning our members. But when all efforts made through dialogue are rebuffed, we will have no choice than to consider other alternatives.

And such alternative will be to accept whatever it is that will protect investments in this sector. Against that, we will clave our regulator to approve for us discriminative tariff in such that in States where there are higher costs of business we will have no choice than transfer the huge costs to the consumer.

It may lead to regime that when you make a call from State “A” tariff will stand at X and when it is from another location it switches to Y. Nevertheless, I am hoping that we will not get to that level. I have confidence in the commitments of various stakeholders to address the situation; and together we can move the industry forward.

It will push the economy higher as well, because we are not yet there. Next revolution is broadband, which is an enabler of trade more than the voice services.

 If we are to achieve the level of broadband provision to move our economy forward, then, we must remove all the barriers to network operations and maintenance.

Fast-tracking Broadband Revolution
One thing I have discovered is that we are good at identifying issues relating to broadband. But we are not good at proffering solutions to problems associated with the processes. It is not just in telecoms that this kind of attitude is obvious in our economy.

We know what the problems are, but instead of taking responsibility and dealing with the issues, remove the barriers and move; we tend to prefer to apportion blames.

Therefore, in the next dispensation and for us to be where we ought to be and have a driver for broadband, we need to take individual and collective responsibilities.

The era of apportioning blames should be over. In fact, NCC coming to blame operators and other regulators and counter blames from different quarters must stop. Every stakeholder must take responsibility.

It is an industry battle whereby we need collaborate to make the impact; both at the regulators level, communications, planning and approval, each one must take responsibility. The era of penalties and threats should be over.

Without that, I am afraid, it will be very difficult to achieve. I have been privileged to be a member of one of the broadband policy implementation councils and have seen the excellent work done by the Committee. But the implementation will pose its own challenges, unless we come together.

We should continue to remind ourselves that against wide held opinion, telecom is beyond the quality of service (QoS). Today, the industry is being assessed only from the trend of QoS. We are beginning to forget, and very quickly too, other benefits accruable in telecom operations which job creation, telecom as the driver of other industries, etc.

The banking sector in Nigeria, today, is reported to be one of the best in Africa. This success is traceable to the support and services provided by the telecom industry.

In summation, the benefits accruable in the industry are far beyond the issues we are focusing on presently.
As players, we will continue to improve on technology, although environmental factors are more of the challenges that we face.

Regulations and policies need to take cognizance of the challenges. And if the regulators will not take responsibility, go to town to feel the pulse of the industry they regulate, then we are in for a battle.

Extending BPO Call Centers to Other Sectors
We need to begin to see the benefits. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) saves companies costs and turns them to be more efficient. It helps in reducing overhead costs for companies; they can give a portion of that aspect of their business to the third party.

And I think we have to start developing the confidence in that regards, which is about adopting the trend.

Such business was mainly carried out by the Indians, China and rest of them, but our people have started developing in such business area.

And Nigeria is seen as the next destination for the infrastructure, due to our level of education, population and most importantly, the benefits that telecoms have afford to businesses in BPO to thrive.

Without that the companies wouldn’t come in. in fact, you wouldn’t see their representatives or connect to them in far- away Europe and other parts of the world.

As players in that areas, we need to create awareness, while encouraging other sectors like banking and finance, aviation to embrace it.

And even the government is in need of contact; government can’t be the ‘be-all’ and ‘do-all’.

If they can provide an enabling environment, restoring confidence to what we do, it can make us (the industry) attractive. There are companies willing and across the world, they will come in.

Poor Welfare Package for Staff Among Some BPO Operators
In that regards, we need to encourage indigenous companies. I am glad that you have mentioned that the dominate players which are not local companies are the ones found wanting.

The indigenous companies are doing better and we will continue to do better hence we understand Nigeria’s socio-cultural environment.

We also understand the economic implications. Again, one factor that users will consider is the governance structure.

It’s not enough to identify these bad practices, but there should be need to fix the challenges confronting employees. However, among those socio-economic issues, there are things we can look at as the industry grows.

Telecom Services in the North-East
We are thankful to the government for the maintained efforts to curtail the insurgencies in the North-East.
Permit me to re-state our call for first line declaration for the protection of the telecom infrastructure after the incidents we had in the past years. It is an ongoing things; we are working with all stakeholders to ensure there is no part of the country that is not connected or remains out of service.

We are hoping that as the general situation improves in those areas, so also will telecom services will improve.

What is important is that we are working with the stakeholders. The speed of work will be determined by and considered by the various stakeholders.

We are cooperating with everyone. As an industry, we would like to have every part of the country connected or covered.

It is not in our interest that those things have happened; we wish that such experience does not repeat in our country.

We assure the public that we are doing the needful by working with the government and other Agencies to achieve the best for the whole country.