The Senate has endorsed the transformation strategy initiated by the Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) to revitalise the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication (MTEL). The endorsement was given in Abuja by the chairman of the Joint Committee on Communications, Senator Sylvester Anyanwu. Speaking at an inquiry organised by the Committee for GSM Operators in Abuja, the senator declared that NITEL is pivotal to resolving the poor quality of service problem amongst mobile operators in the country.
The major GSM operators – MTN, Celtel and Globacom – on one side and the National Assembly Joint Committee on Communications on the other have been at each other’s neck over the poor quality of their services, which the lawmakers insist must improve.
Continuing, the committee chairman observed that one of the causes of poor quality of service was the fact that millions of Nigerians depended on mobile phones for primary telephony when they ought to be using land lines which, according to him, are more reliable and even cheaper. The Senator further stated that NITEL should embark on massive roll-out of land lines and take the pressure of primary telephony off the mobile operators. The lawmaker said Transcorp should be assisted by the government to enable it complete the transformation process it embarked upon, adding that if NITEL is working, it will reduce the pressure on GSM services.
The management of Transcorp had, in the third quarter of 2007, announced a transformation plan that would lead to revitalisation of the two telecommunication firms. Part of the transformation plans were the resuscitation of NITEL backbone and the re-launch of MTEL services in Abuja zone in December last year, which has tremendously improved the quality of the network in the zone.
ITNewsAfrica
