ALTON, RackCentre Push for Enabling Business Environment

Emma Okonji

The Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria ALTON and Rack Centre, a Tier111 co-location Data Centre have stressed the need for an enabling business environment to make businesses thrive.

Both ALTON and Rack Centre made the call in Lagos recently during the fourth quarter seminar organised by the Nigerian Information a Technology Reporters Association (NITRA).

Head, Technical Committee at ALTON, Aremu Olajide, who decried the issue of multiple taxes imposed on telecoms operators by state governments and federal government agencies, said such taxes are impeding telecoms growth in the country.

“There is need to create enabling environment for telecoms business to grow. The growth of a nation depends on technology advancement of the nation.
“Government must grow telecoms infrastructure to enable its citizens enjoy the full benefits of telecoms service offerings,” Olajide said.

According to him, arbitrary taxes have drastically reduced the last-mile broadband connectivity and fibre penetration in the country.

“Last-mile connectivity has to do with spectrum availability and connectivity, but less than 2 per cent of 30.9 per cent broadband connectivity is connected by fibre.

“We therefore need more spectrum frequencies to boost fibre connectivity. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators have gone down the drain because Nigeria lacks fibre connectivity backbone infrastructure,” Olajide said.
In his presentation, the Managing Director, RackCentre, Mr. Tunde Coker, expressed displeasure over the huge loss of revenue to data hosting outside of the country, insisting that with the right enabling environment, government and local businesses can make huge revenue from local hosting of data in Nigeria.

He said companies like RackCentre, has the capacity to host several data in Nigeria. According to Coker, RackCentre has developed its Cloud-on-Ground technology solution to boost data hosting and broadband connectivity.
RackCentre is developing a global cloud that could host data locally in Nigeria, Coker said.

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented by the Deputy Director and Head, Special Intervention Project at NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, said: “Our commitment to achieve broadband internet availability, accessibility and affordability, is hinged on broadband deployment across the country.

“Facilitation of broadband penetration is the number one item and flagship of our 8-Point Agenda. The potentials in broadband penetration is enormous, which explains why the entire global community is investing huge resources to exploit and assimilate broadband that is expected to guide global economic index of development in the future.”

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