An expert has blamed bad government policies and an unfavorable operating environment as the reasons why Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operating companies are not thriving in Nigeria.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of Association of License Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), speaking to the Daily Trust, said CDMA’s such as Starcomms, Multi-Links, Zoom Mobile and MTS First Wireless are suffering because of the lack of availability of essential infrastructure.
Adebayo said: “There is virtually no government regulation on ground to protect the CDMA operators. CDMA operators with respect to Nigerian telecoms sector are small operators and government needs to support them against the bigger operators.”
Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is to blame for the plight of CDMA operating companies in Nigeria.
According to him, the regulatory body raised the interconnect tariffs between the CDMA and GSM operating companies to the same level.
He said the problem got worse when in 2006 the NCC equated CDMA interconnect tariffs with those of GSM companies. This he said was “a grievous mistake”.
He said: “No sooner were tariffs jerked than their prices went up and that led to their customers leaving them.
“Have you not asked why one of the GSM operators who also double as national carrier has not deemed it fit to roll our CDMA as they are daily expanding on their GSM technology? It is because they know they would not make profit as long as the tariffs (of GSM and CDMA interconnect rates) are the same.”
