A project as large as the Lagos fibre duct might result in a
monopoly, according to the GSMA, the international organization that represents
the interests of all mobile network providers, as the price of the lease is
frequently set by the sole owner of the infrastructure.
Chief Operating Officer of WTES, Chidi Ajuzie, explained
that the concession agreement with the Lagos State Government is for 25 years,
after which the government will either extend the agreement or take over the
infrastructure.
He said “WTES has a 25 year concession arrangement with
Lagos State Government to build an open duct infrastructure. As we build, every
operator comes in and leases that infrastructure to provide services.
With this project, we have taken off 50% of the cost the
telecom operators would have incurred in building their infrastructure. So, we
built, and they just come to us to lease.”
When asked how this will affect Main One which was licensed
by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to deploy broadband
infrastructure in Lagos, Ajuzie said: “We are not a licensed InfraCo. We are
just to build and lease.
The licensed InfraCo can come to us as the infrastructure
owner and lease. They can also build their own, but the mindset is that there
is no need for duplication since someone has already built it.”
Meanwhile, Lagos State is implementing a ‘dig once’ policy
which prevents the fragmented and constant digging of state roads by different
telecom operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This means that all
telecom operators in the state, including the licensed InfraCo, are conditioned
to lease from WTES.
Pointing out the disadvantages of such projects, usually
referred to as Single Whole Network (SWN), the Head of GSMA Intelligence, and
Peter Jarich said: “SWNs are generally defined as government-initiated network
monopolies, compelling operators to rely on SWN-delivered wholesale services as
they serve and compete for customers.
Like network sharing arrangements, SWNs often purport a
rationale based on reducing both network CAPEX requirements and end-user
service costs, driving uptake in the process.
Unlike sharing agreements though, SWNs are mandated, they
are not voluntary and do not give operators the flexibility to determine the
best arrangement for sharing.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment