Glo’s bid for 2.3GHz spectrum licence will enhance telecom service

Nigeria’s National Carrier, Globacom, has stated that it is bidding for the 2.3GHz broadband spectrum licence being auctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as part of its aggressive investment strategy to give Nigerians the best-in-class telecom services. 

The licence, the company further explained, would ultimately improve the quality of service available to all telecom subscribers nationwide.

Speaking during a courtesy call on him by the leadership of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA), Globacom Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel, said the company remains committed to its aggressive investment drive, adding that obtaining the broadband spectrum licence on offer would enable the company to mobilise necessary infrastructure to move telecommunications to its next phase of development in Nigeria.

According to the NCC’s plan, the winner of the single 2.3 GHz spectrum will become the sole wholesaler of broadband services to other service providers in the Nigerian market. Mr. Jameel stressed that the licence has therefore placed a critical responsibility on the licence winner because going forward, there will be more dependence on the Internet.

“There’s going to be more reliance on cloud services and for that to work efficiently, you have to be surrounded by the internet. Globacom is equipped to make that happen. We have the capacity to deploy very quickly, the technical know-how and the international bandwidth through our Glo 1 submarine cable,” he said.

On the issue of quality of service, Mr. Jameel said no operator is happy when the quality of service is poor, explaining that any spell of sub-optimal service quality saddens the company because of the lost revenue for as long as it lasts.

“When a site goes down, it negatively impacts the quality of service in the immediate community it is meant to serve. If it is a hub site, the negative impact transcends the immediate community, because other sites dependent on the site that is down will also be technically out of commission. In essence, a site that goes down can negatively impact thousands of subscribers far and near, and the operator is incapable of making revenue. We don’t want that. No operator wants that,” he said.

He identified equipment vandalism, wilful shutdown of base stations by agencies of government and power cuts as some of the main causes of spells of sub-optimal quality of service on telecom networks in Nigeria. 

He called on the government to assist telecom operators to fight some of the challenges militating against quality of service. He said for instance, it will be helpful for the government to harmonise all the taxes payable by operators for its infrastructure across the country. 

He argued that if an operator knows that it is to pay certain amount for its installation in a particular location, it will be easy to factor this cost into its budget at the beginning of each year and pay. He said this will prevent situations where Local Government and other agencies of government shut down cell sites over revenue issues.

The leadership of NITRA led by its president, Emma Okonji and Vice President, Stanley Okenwa, lauded Globacom for its massive investment in the Nigerian telecom industry. They described Globacom as ‘the greatest driver of local content in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector” and urged the company not to relent in its efforts to empower Nigerians.

Flashing as an epidemic on the West coast

(Off the cuff published in Nigerian Tribune, Thursday 3 February 2005)

Colleagues from other West African countries here at the ongoing WSIS preparatory summit in Accra Ghana have confessed to me that flashing is a sin their people are also guilty of.


From Ghana to Mali, mobile phone users demonstrate the active penchant for helping others squander their credit while conserving their own.


"There are Ghanaians who though are earning foreign currency in London, would still flash you sometimes, hoping for you to call them back,'' said Naa, a journalist with a general interest magazine published for Ghana from the UK.


The 'epidemic' has spread very widely in Cote d'Ivoire, according to an Abidjan-based ICT journalist, Theodore Kouadio.


Of course, in Cote d'Ivoire, they don't call it flashing. They call it 'bip', pronounced 'beepeh'.
In The Gambia, flashing is a way of life, especially among the youths.


"Yes, you do that (Flash) to let people know you are trying to reach them, said Bakare Muritala, a journalist for the Observer of The Gambia. In his argument it is not really because people are not willing to spend their own credit, but just because they are out of credit at the particular moment they need to make the call.


Ghanaians seem to have mastered the art of flashing more than everybody else though.
During one of the tea breaks at the pre-event workshop, a Ghanaian participant particularly turned out to be some kind of irritant to other participants. His phone was forever ringing once or twice every few seconds. He was determined not to call the caller back, but the caller was equally determined he would not let up until he was called back.


Well, yours sincerely taught him a trick he could use to take care of the situation.
Instead of putting his phone back in his holster after each flashing episode, I asked him to hold it in his hand and press the answer button as soon as the call enters. After picking the flashing a couple of times the phone remained silent for the rest of the day.


As for texting, this is not something that our compatriots seem to enjoy. Theodore tells me his people are textually inactive. He personally had never sent a text before. People would rather talk to you directly either by putting a call through or, forcing the other party to call you via flashing.


Also suffering from low text drive is Benin Republic, just a stone throw from Nigeria. Textual intercourse is prevalent among Ghanaians, but I would say they still have one or two things to learn from Nigeria where a number of incentives by operators have served as a textual aphrodisiac.


Many people who had never sent an SMS in their entire life recently began to bombard their family and friends with texts courtesy of 12 free texts per month policy of Vmobile and the two texts per recharge of Glo Mobile.


Nigeria is still their baba!