ALTON calls on NAS to legislate on vandalization

CHAIRMAN of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo has called for the protection of telecommunications infrastructure through the passage of the bills to that effect by the National Assembly (NAS).

Mr. Adebayo who made the call while speaking with IT correspondents during the recently concluded 2008, West African Telecommunications Exhibition (W.Afri.Tel) in Lagos , also said the law is supposed to protect telecommunications infrastructure from vandalization.

According to him, if the government could classify telecommunications infrastructure as national issue as was the case during the days of National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) through the establishment of miscellaneous decree on vandalization, “we would sleep with our two eyes closed and there would be effective service delivery.”

The ALTON boss said for Nigerians to enjoy better service delivery from operators, there is need for constant power supply.

He also said ALTON is poised to look at issues surrounding quality of service beyond mere infrastructure.

Adebayo further said that capacity challenge is being addressed by a number of its members, adding that a problem known is a problem half solved.

Mr. Adebayo expressed delight that the government is already discussing the need for improvement in the energy sector, as this should serve as catalyst for national development.

Meanwhile, member of ALTON and the fifth Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operator, Etisalat Nigeria Limited, has announced the interconnection of some key operators in the nation’s telecom market, mostly on the GSM platform.

This development came as Etisalat has finalized agreement and practical assessment of the viable installation of equipments at relevant locations, and promises quality of service.

Affirming this during the Etisalat Day at the just concluded W.Afri.Tel, chief executive, Mr. Saoud Al Shamsi, in a message delivered on his behalf by the Director, Government Relations, Ibrahim Dikko, stated that the telco is much concerned about quality of service.

“We are not driven by profits to rush to sell services that are not robust. Our objective is to give consumers a world-class GSM network,” he said, adding that its service offering will be simple but of superior quality.

He stressed that at all times the company would show that it is a caring network.

Also speaking after a tour of Etisalat stand, the Lagos State Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Mr. Jide Sanwo-Olu, expressed delight at the assurance he got from Etisalat to offer world-class services, saying telecom customers are eager to enjoy quality services just like they do in other markets.

For the Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Makanjuola Alabi, described Etisalat stand as excellent.

ITRealms Online notes that this year’s edition was the first for Etisalat at the W.Afri.Tel expo.

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