Jegede sets agenda for incoming NCC boss

Chief Executive Officer of Phase 3 Telecoms, Mr. Stanley Jegede, has tasked the incoming Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), saying that Nigeria’s telecommunications sector needs sustained investment in the coming years if the desire to realise universal access is to be attained.

Speaking recently, Mr. Jegede, said that what should be the focus of the soon-to-be appointed chief executive and Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, is how to sustain the investment made in the sector in last 10 years.

He pointed out that though a lot of achievements have been made by the regulatory body, there was still much work to be done in the years ahead.

According to him, issues such as affordability of services, quality of services and total network development that deliver broadband services across the country were areas that further investment could help improve in the near future.

“Investment in telecommunications is an issue that must be pursued vigorously in the coming years if Nigeria is to fully bring the benefits of telecommunications to the citizenry. Just like the oil industry, investment is needed in telecommunications for Nigeria to remain the market leader in Africa and also to connect the many unconnected people that still remain in the country,” he said.

As said by him, Phase3 Telecom would continue to invest in transmission backbone development to provide the needed link that would facilitate advanced service delivery to individuals and organizations countrywide.

“At Phase3 Telecom, we realize the need for the development of the backbone that will carry traffic and ensure the availability of up-to-date services to the citizenry hence our current investment in IP backbone across the West African region using power transmission network,” he stated.

His firm, Jegede said, had investment over $100 million in the sector and would do more in order to become a leader in the provision of transmission services in the West African sub-region.

While commending the outgoing EVC of NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, the Phase3 boss noted that he did so much to take the telecommunications sector to its current enviable height, stressing that the performance of Ndukwe has made him an undoubted achiever in Nigeria.

“You cannot hide a star. When you look at the sky in the night and there is a bright star shining in the sky, you will certainly see it. This is what Ndukwe represents in the telecommunications sector today. He has so impacted the telecommunications sector that one must appreciate what God has done through him for Nigeria,” he said.

Jegede said achievements of Ndukwe meant that a lot of work must be done by whosoever would be replacing him as chief executive to keep the industry at a leading position in Africa both in terms of quality of regulatory interventions as well as ensuring the delivery of expected services to Nigerians.

He therefore urged government to appoint a seasoned person to replace Ndukwe in order to ensure continuity in the development of the country’s telecommunications in the coming years.


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