At Last NITEL GSM

Prospective subscribers in Lagos are angry that NITEL comes to town with insufficient lines, high cost and unnecessary paper work

By Chikodi Okereocha

Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, finally commenced its global system of mobile communications, GSM, services in Lagos last week. There are fears, however, that many Nigerians who have been yearning for more effective and affordable GSM services may have had their hopes dashed. NITEL lines and services do not come cheap either.

To get connected, prospective customers are required to pay a fee of N10,000 for a subscriber identification module (SIM) card, in addition to an initial deposit of N10,000. A handset costs N10,000 plus N500 VAT. Those who desire international connectivity would make extra payment of N50,000. Access is, however, free.

The airtime is N21.00 per minute for calls within NITEL network and N22.00 per minute for calls to other networks. International calls attract N110.00 per minute.

Newswatch also gathered that subscribers are required to present two colour passport photographs, evidence of ownership of a bank account and proof of customer’s residence. Full operation of NITEL GSM services in Lagos , according to the parastatal, is expected to commence when it takes delivery of one million units of Pay- As -You-Go scratch cards said to be arriving the country soon. Snag is, there are not enough lines for prospective subscribers.

Muhammed Bello, minister of communications announced at a two-day NITEL facility tour of Lagos , April 19 that out of 100,000 installed capacity, 50,000 lines would be in Lagos . The minister said that only 17,000 lines would be functional. Out of this number, 5,000 lines will be for contract while the remaining 12,000 will be for pay-as-you-go. He blamed the slow pace of roll-out on the botched NITEL privatisation. He also explained that effort was being made to position NITEL for the competition in the telecom industry.

The piecemeal GSM roll out has been generating reactions. Some of those who spoke to Newswatch at the sales point said that they were disappointed with the ridiculous number of lines rolled out. Emmanuel Onwubiko, an importer and subscriber to ECONET said that the drain on his purse by the network with its outrageous airtime charge had forced him to wait for NITEL GSM. He said he was disappointed when it finally did with only a few lines and high cost of acquiring them.

Onwubiko said NITEL ought to be cheaper and better. He said that this would have reduced the pains of many subscribers who have been under the yoke of high tariff and epileptic services by other GSM providers.

Onwubiko said that for NITEL to come out with only 17,000 functional lines for Lagos was a manifestation of its unpreparedness and inability to set its priorities right. “How does NITEL intend to make its relevance felt when ECONET and MTN had together deployed more than 350,000 lines barely eight months after launch,” he queried.

Lawrence Uchudiuno, a graduate of electrical engineering argued that given the fast growing and highly competitive telecom sector, there was need for NITEL to increase its capacity building in Lagos , reduce cost and come out with its other package. This, according to him, was the only way the parastatal could command public confidence and stand up to the challenge of providing efficient telephone services.

But Gabriel Eko, area manager, NITEL, Somolu exchange sees things differently. He admitted that NITEL usually comes out last but insisted they come out better. He noted that the N10,000 deposit people are complaining about should not worry anybody since the money shall be credited into the subscribers account. Eko said that those who could not afford NITEL’s GSM for now even with its low airtime would wait for the next package which, according to him, would cater for the very low income earners.

Fidel Otuya, director of corporate communications, Intercellular, one of the fixed wireless operators said that no matter what anybody might say against NITEL GSM, it promised to be better. According to him, the airtime was cheaper and more affordable and its network had a wider reach. “Don’t forget that all other operators are interconnected to NITEL,” he said.

NITEL GSM was originally expected to kick-start with its pre-paid services but Ericsson, the Swedish-owned telecom giant contracted to build the platform failed to deliver on time. In order to meet the August 9, 2001 deadline set by the National Communications Commission, NCC, NITEL quickly introduced the post-paid service, Royals for residents of Abuja . Instead of 15,000 GSM lines that are supposed to be deployed in Abuja if Ericsson had completed the installation of the equipment, only about 5,000 were deployed.

It is, however, not clear whether the contractor has completed the project before the extension of the GSM services in Lagos . Efforts to get the mobile communications directorate to talk was futile.

Newswatch Volume 35 No 20, May 20, 2002