After a closer analysis of the huge potential of the Nigerian telecom market, international telecom investor-operator, Orange Group, has vowed to play a big part in Africa’s biggest service space, in diversified areas including mobile, data, fixed and financial technology support services.
The six-member team of Orange Middle East and Africa, led by Victoria Adefala – who delivered this message to the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Umar Danbatta, during a business visit to his office in Abuja – said the group is fully determined to do all it takes to get a slice of the Nigerian market.
The delegation, including Orange’s Africa Director of Regulatory Affairs, Jean Chalhoub, sought clarifications on several regulatory and policy issues that will engender the company’s speedy entry into the country. Adefala said that Nigeria is missing in Orange Group’s portfolio of a combined network of over 140 million subscribers across the 18 countries of its operations.
NCC’s chief, Danbatta, who welcomed the Group’s quest to invest in Nigeria, reassured the delegation of a robust policy and regulatory environment that provides a quality enabling infrastructure, along with the full support of the Federal Government, as evidenced by such instruments as the Executive Order 001 on the promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), and the Federal Government’s Economy Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) with ample provisions to protect investors.
He said that the commission has also taken several other regulatory steps aimed at improving the operational environment, including the ongoing collaboration with the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to reduce Right of Way (RoW) charges on telecom infrastructure deployments, signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with various government and institutional stakeholders across the country, the developed guidelines and regulations to promote colocation of infrastructure and the upholding of a fair competitive operating environment, among others.
Danbatta, who hosted the delegation with the two Executive Commissioners of the Commission, Ubale Maska and Barrister Adeleke Adewolu as well as several directors, said the successful auction of the 5G spectrum is a clear indication of investor confidence in the country, and that investment opportunities are available in voice and data, both upstream and downstream of the sectors, with a certainty on investment returns.
