The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, has revealed that a fresh crisis is looming in the telecoms sector. He said foreign service providers and equipment suppliers have threatened to disconnect their Nigerian counterparts over an alleged breach of agreement thus cutting off telephone access to US, Europe and others.
He revealed that the latest crisis was brought about by the inability of some Nigerian operators to meet their financial obligations. If the development is not addressed timely and adequately, he said the country’s 150 million active subscribers may encounter challenges putting a call through from Nigeria to Europe, America and other parts of the world.
“It is going to be equally difficult for the local firms to procure equipment for expansion of their services in Nigeria and that could further lower the quality of service in the country,” he added.
He revealed that some of the foreign vendors had issued a notice of disconnection of service to their Nigerian counterparts, which could disrupt service availability with attendant negative impact on customers’ experience any time soon.
Commenting on the development, the President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), Deolu Ogunbanjo, said there could be a collapse which he said would affect all other sectors of the economy including banking.
