ATCON Calls For Inclusion Of Local Companies In FG’s 90,000km Fibre Project

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has called on the Nigerian government to include local companies in the execution of the federal government’s 90, 000-kilometre fibre project.

The President of the Association, Mr. Tony Emoekpere, made the call during an interview with Nairametrics.

According to him, involving local companies in the project would help to deepen local content in the telecom industry and also serve as support for indigenous players in the industry.

“We’ve heard the government talk about the national fiber-optic project, through which they plan to deploy 90,000 kilometers.

“We are looking forward to the actualization this year and we will want the government to ensure that they involve local companies in that project to support local content,” he said.

The ATCON President added that allowing indigenous companies to participate in infrastructure projects would also help to lower the costs of services in the telecom industry.

“We need to start looking at ways to lower some of the costs of telecom services and the more we localize things like the manufacturing of some equipment, the better for industry,” Emoekpere stated.

Emoekpere said the industry players are also looking forward to a review of the telecom tariff this year, adding that this would address a lot of issues in the country.

According to him, the Nigerian telecom sector has a lot of potential for growth this year. He, however, noted that the growth could only be realised through the implementation of the right policies, including the tariff review.

He added that the review of the tariff would make the industry more attractive and attract more investments.