Teniola Re-elected  ATCON President, Harps on Broadband Access

By Emma Okonji

The Chief Executive Officer  of Kinten Telecoms, Mr. Olusola Teniola has been re-elected as President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), while the CEO of Medallion Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Nnamani emerged the new First  Vice President of ATCON.

Other members of exco that emerged at the election, which took place last week, were, Mr. Muyiwa Ogungboye of eStream Networks as Second  Vice President; Myke Ofili of Coloplus Worldwide Services Limited as National Secretary; Aderonke Adeyegbe    of Comercio Limited as Financial Secretary; Anucha Hyacinth of GTS -Infotel Nigeria Limited as    Treasurer and Adanna Nosiri of IHS Nigeria Limited as Publicity Secretary. Others were Ezekiel Egboye of Rack Centre Limited as Coordinator, Equipment Dealers; Osondu Nwokoro of ntel as Coordinator, Telephone Operators, among others.

Addressing the media shortly after the election,  Teniola assured Nigerians of the resolve of the newly elected excos to vigorously pursue broadband penetration and ensure that all Nigerians have access to broadband at affordable rate.

“We need competition in the industry that speaks to the open access so that our Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other industry operators can gain access to the right capacities and pricing so as to provide affordable services to the consumers. This will drive huge data as required as well as provide access to broadband infrastructure for those outside Lagos,” Teniola said.

Commending Globacom for the planned takeoff of Glo2, Teniola said it would help to advance broadband capacity to the hinterlands, outside of Lagos for easy access.

Pleased with the conduct of the election, Nnamani said the new excos would review the current ATCON policies, with a view to upgrading some of the policies that are still relevant in today’s digital era, and discard those that are not.

“Digital technology and convergence have created some disruptions in the technology space, and we must align ourselves with the global realities of today’s digital era.  Today we see a new set of technology activities from Value Added Service (VAS) providers and the FinTechs, creating new line of businesses that drives efficiency and profitability.  The newly elected excos will address the new development and ensure that member companies benefit from them.

We will come up with new advocacy that will enhance members’ businesses and promote stable economy,” Nnamani said.

Addressing the issue of multiple taxation in the telecoms industry, Nnamani said ATCON would continue to engage with the relevant authorities at the federal, state and local governments to arrive at a consensus on how best to levy telecoms operators and still make them competitive in their business.

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