Airtel harps on infrastructure sharing among telcos

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya has appealed to the  Federal Government to formulate regulations that will allow telecommunication companies to share spectrum and active infrastructure. He said the development would minimise duplication, reduce proliferation of infrastructure and facilities, promote fair competition because of equal access to spectrum […]

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya has appealed to the  Federal Government to formulate regulations that will allow telecommunication companies to share spectrum and active infrastructure.
He said the development would minimise duplication, reduce proliferation of infrastructure and facilities, promote fair competition because of equal access to spectrum and infrastructure, and minimise CAPEX that would ordinarily be required to acquire facilities.
"When funds are conserved, the operators are able to invest in core network equipment that improves the quality of service for subscribers in the country who, in turn, can make use of the improved service to grow their businesses and come up with disruptive technologies that can contribute significantly to raising Nigeria’s GDP," Ogunsanya noted.
The Telecommunications Network Interconnection Regulations guideline was introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to help regulate collocation and infrastructure sharing. But, it is not yet a law.
According to the guideline, the NCC encourages operators to share rights of way, masts, poles, antenna mast and tower structures, ducts, trenches, space in buildings and electric power.
The regulator said infrastructure such as complete network structures, switching centers, radio network controllers and base stations cannot be shared.
The guideline also stated the terms and conditions for infrastructure sharing in the telecoms sector.