(Ecofin Agency) - Nigerian telecommunications operators announce great realizations that will thoroughly transform the local market this year. These ambitions were revealed by the president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, and his peer of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, during an interview with the local media The Guardian, on December 31, 2018.

The two representatives indicated that greater attention would be paid to the quality of services. To that regard, joint strategic investments are planned for the creation of an open-access fiber optics network via the InfraCos. This network will help boost the broadband internet penetration rate. They also intend to build new telecom towers to densify the network from 45,000 to 70,000, with a prevalence of 4G towers that will increase from 7,000 to 12,000.

Particular attention will be also be paid to spectrums and frequencies. Along with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Olusola Teniola and Gbenga Adebayo indicated that the industry would advocate for their optimization to boost the development of bandwidth-intensive apps.

The mobile money will also be one of the focus this year. Compared with that of other countries like Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, the market, whose penetration rate has been 1% for five years now, is still under-exploited. Olusola Teniola explained that telecom operators have promised to bring this service to an additional 90 million residents.  

To achieve these ambitions, Gbenga Adebayo appealed for the country’s president’s help. “We are seeking for the President to declare Telecommunications as a critical national economic and security infrastructure and accord our sector and infrastructure the needed protection in that regard, he declared.