Airtel wants telecoms equipment declared critical national infrastructure

Worried by the spate of vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure and its attendant cost on replacement and disruption to services in Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airtel Nigeria has reiterated the calls to classify telecoms equipment as critical national infrastructure so that they could enjoy adequate legal protection.Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop, who spoke at the 3rd West African Information & Communications Technology Congress (WAFICT 2011) held at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, also canvassed for the discouragement of multiple taxes and fees by states and local governments. He also advocated for the pragmatic implementation of policy and regulatory convergence. In this instance, he called for a merger between the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stating the future is in convergence and it is absolutely necessary for both organizations to come together. Speaking on broadband, Swaroop called on the Federal Government to issue a National Policy on Communications (NPC) that will incorporate government's commitment and resolve towards the development of broadband in the country. According to him, the present National Policy on Telecommunication (NPT) issued in 2000, a pre-broadband era, does not effectively capture the required framework that will boost broadband uptake and development in the country, and therefore, recommended a review of existing guidelines. He explained that countries that have recorded monumental success in the area of broadband development and penetration started by initiating favourable policies accompanied by smart regulations. Mr. Swaroop cited examples from countries such as Finland, Malaysia, Morocco, Sweden and the United States of America to buttress his point, arguing that strong regulations and right policies enabled successful penetration of broadband in those countries. He referred to a similar policy in Finland, which declared Broadband a legal right in 2009, and entitled every person to have access to 1Mbps Internet Connectivity by 2010 while Malaysia had a singular policy goal to deliver a High Speed Broadband (HSBB) Network to cover major cities and towns in the first phase and boost Broadband household penetration to 50 per cent by 2010. The Airtel CEO, who disclosed that his company is committed to partnering with government to attain the next level of growth for broadband, also outlined other strategies that can help develop the telecoms and broadband industry.
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