The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has appealed to regulators in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to consider convergence.

According to ATCON’s President, Olusola Teniola (photo), the lack of a united regulatory environment in the country is deterring the convergence of services in the industry. He said convergence signifies the coming together of previously separated services in telecommunications/telephony, media/broadcasting and internet technologies to form a single technological unit, but there has been the unwillingness to embrace unity by relevant government agencies and commissions in the ICT sector.

“The practical consequence is interoperability and the ability to access and operate services through a single device, for example, accessing the internet or broadband through a mobile phone. However, convergence is not complete in most developing countries, such as Nigeria. The implication is that the benefits of a converged ICT environment have been limited by the absence of a converged regulatory,” he said.

Anita Fatunji