Multi-Links disposed to co-location – Abazie

Multi-Links Telkom Limited has reiterated its disposition to co-location of telecommunications infrastructure.

Reaffirming this position in a chat with ITRealms Online at the weekend, the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Multi-Links Telkom Limited, Mrs. Ijeoma Abazie, said that so far, the telco has deployed about 3200 kilometres of fibre.

In order to expand its footprint, she said that Multi-Links has fibre coverage by co-locating, sharing on one-on-one with MTN so as to leverage this infrastructure.

“We swop fibre with them that also gives us some kind of increased coverage in the terms of the fibre footprints in a more easily achievable time frame,” she declared.

Equally she said that Multi-Links has commenced Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) registration as requested by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stressing that is one of the projects holistically supported by the operator as a means of curbing cybercrime in the country.

“It is something that is happening in a lot of markets globally in response to the increase in terrorism and crimes, financial and otherwise,” she noted.

Mrs. Abazie accompanied by the corporate affairs manager, Mr. Abiodun Bayo, pointed out that in Africa with precise instance to the Nigerian market, “you see that more than 97 per cent of the total subscribers’ base is pre-paid unlike in the more matured markets where the predominance is post-paid and where you have a culture of computerization where you have very detailed data on the people.”

Hence, data support like SIM registration require that network operators get their subscribers’ details and are also able to include biometric details and may be when they are able to put a name and address, as much as that is possible, to a number, because that will also require identification of internet protocol (IP) address, that might help in some measure to minimize the incidence of cyber crimes in Nigeria.

“Well, we have been trying to do some of those, but now that we see that this requirement might take place in the near future we are actually working to see that we do a lot more on that and that we are creating the necessary awareness amongst our subscribers,” she asserted.

Multi-Links, she said, is trying as much as possible on those they have data on to verify, when they come on physical visits, to resolve one complaint or the other and for those that do not have any data on.

“We try to capture them and we realize that we cannot do the work of the police but we try to do what we can in terms of verifying data. We also try to aid the police and other security agencies with the information they need in carrying out their duties,” she said.

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