NCC, Fashola and telecom operators

 Juwah told Fashola that Lagos alone controls more than 15 per cent of total number of mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria, hence he should help by making mild policies that would have positive impact on telecom services. Lagos position is seen as critical in matters that affect telecommunications services, Juwah said during the visit.He informed the […]

 Juwah told Fashola that Lagos alone controls more than 15 per cent of total number of mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria, hence he should help by making mild policies that would have positive impact on telecom services.
 Lagos position is seen as critical in matters that affect telecommunications services, Juwah said during the visit.
He informed the governor that the nation has about 119 million active subscribers while teledensity reached more than 85 per cent from some 0.4%, while contributing more than 7 .8 per cent to the national GDP, and that Lagos State controls more than 15 per cent of the mobile phone subscriber population in Nigeria.
He said while it is important to reiterate that quality of services in Lagos, and indeed, other parts of the country, is not desirable, there are challenges contributing to this with the Right of Way issues being the most critical.
“We are already aware that you are involved with other governors in the National Economic Council in discussing and finding solutions to the issue of RoW in the country as currently being championed by Vice President Namadi Sambo. We urge you to continue to support these patriotic efforts so that the objectives of providing easy passage for telecommunications infrastructure, to accelerate and encourage more investments in the country, are realized”, the s Juwah told Fashola.
He also acquainted the governor with the level of the nation’s infrastructure deficit with reference to the paucity of masts and towers in Nigeria with less than 25,000 base stations compared with a country like UK with  up to 65,000 base stations adding that a 2009 survey by the NCC showed that out of a total of 6, 196 masts and towers in Lagos, 48 per cent belonged to corporate bodies and individuals, 25 per cent belonged to telecom operators, 18% to banks, 8% to unidentified owners and 2% to the broadcast industry.
He said even if the number of base stations owned by operators, which was 2, 975 then, had increased by 100%, it would still have fallen short of what is needed to serve Lagos subscribers alone.
“Your Excellency, this situation is made worse by multiple taxations and regulations that await the service providers at the various levels of governments, including state governments, local governments, and even some communities. In most cases, unfortunately, telecom masts and towers easily become specific targets for multiple taxes and regulations even where there are other masts and towers in existence, or even when appropriate taxes have been imposed at the Federal Level.  
“Given the scenario of infrastructure deficit that we have painted above, the situation on ground becomes very discouraging as some of the service providers depend on very few base stations to serve the populace.  We have noticed that some of these regulations exist in Lagos and it is our hope that this progressive administration will be disposed to taking a serious look at some of them with a view to eliminating double and inequitable taxation. This will in turn engender an enabling business environment that would encourage more investments and accelerate deployment of more telecom infrastructure and facilities”, he said.
But Governor Fashola in his response told the NCC team that the commission could not regulate where to site their masts.
“You will regulate the allocation of frequencies, you will regulate bandwidths and so many other things but you cannot regulate where the towers and mast are positioned, you need me as indeed you need all of my colleagues to determine where the right of way will be and under what conditions and this was the point that we took”, he said
He regretted that a lot of time have been lost in the legal process in the matter of approvals for the operators for erection of masts because of the disagreement with his government which refused to grant approvals for new installations and government’s insistence on  collocation, payment of levies, and quality of installations. He promised to bring the dispute out of the courts for amicable settlement.
He disagreed with the use of the term multiple taxation as a proper way to describe levies being imposed on operators for services rendered to them at state levels as the operators’ licenses for operation does not foreclose payment for the land and other associated fees.
“ It is an incidence of the nature of business that they have  entered, the issues we should be talking about is how to mitigate cost and that is what I’ve told my colleagues that we cannot make revenue from the cost of right of way or from the cost of setting up masts and towers”, he said.
“Lagos State does not seek to do so, we see the revenue in the business growth that ICT and stronger broadband and fiber optic capacity give to citizens, that’s where I see money. The revenue that comes from businesses, more people employed, paying more income tax is much more than what any government could ever collect”, he said.
Speaking on this issue, president of NATCOMS, a telecom right group, Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the Lagos State governor should soften on some of his policies on telecom masts. He said Fashola’s highhandedness on issue that concern telecom masts is worsening service quality.
Also, an executive member of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said the association would not be cowed with Fashola’s latest stand but would continue to explore legal means to make the governor sees reason with them.
The ALTON member, who pleaded anonymity, told Daily Trust at the weekend that the Lagos stand is detrimental to economic growth and development of the country.
But the subscribers know quite well that when two elephants fight, the grasses in the area will surely suffer. Who will now come to the rescue of Lagos telecoms subscribers after the NCC’s effort has failed?