Mobile Broadband Revolution Imminent in Nigeria – Visafone MD
- By Abimbola Tooki
- Published October 24th, 2011
- News
- Unrated
Sailesh Iyer, managing director of Visafone, has said that mobile broadband is the next step of telecom revolution in Nigeria. “This is the future of Nigeria as we speak; it is going to take Nigeria to the next level because data is key to the success and growth of any economy of any country,” he said. In an exclusive interview with BusinessWorld Intelligence, he revealed that majority of the technology market’s interest is being channeled towards mobile data which is the main focus of Visafone at the moment as the company strives to clinch and retain a position among the top service providers in this segment of the market.
Iyer explained that a major challenge to this development is lack of adequate infrastructure and protection of the existing facilities in the industry. “This is a major requirement for any operator as we speak,” he said, adding that the cost of running a data station is negatively affecting the telecom industry as operators grapple with spending almost 10 times more than the required sum to keep data stations running. He further noted that 80 per cent of the time, they run on alternative power and this hikes up the cost of operations.
While reiterating that Visafone, with its three million subscribers, is the largest CDMA operator in the continent. Iyer told BusinessWorld Intelligence that the network operator’s present corporate objective is to deliver quality voice and data output because many customers have come to expect redundancy from telecom operators thereby resorting to alternative technology which is expressed in the fact that “almost every Nigerian has a minimum of two phones” as a safety measure.
In an attempt to keep Nigerian customers, who he said are prone to switching brand loyalty due to promotions, he hinted that Visafone customers should be expectant about the promotions the company was planning for the coming festive periods.
Iyer explained that a major challenge to this development is lack of adequate infrastructure and protection of the existing facilities in the industry. “This is a major requirement for any operator as we speak,” he said, adding that the cost of running a data station is negatively affecting the telecom industry as operators grapple with spending almost 10 times more than the required sum to keep data stations running. He further noted that 80 per cent of the time, they run on alternative power and this hikes up the cost of operations.
While reiterating that Visafone, with its three million subscribers, is the largest CDMA operator in the continent. Iyer told BusinessWorld Intelligence that the network operator’s present corporate objective is to deliver quality voice and data output because many customers have come to expect redundancy from telecom operators thereby resorting to alternative technology which is expressed in the fact that “almost every Nigerian has a minimum of two phones” as a safety measure.
In an attempt to keep Nigerian customers, who he said are prone to switching brand loyalty due to promotions, he hinted that Visafone customers should be expectant about the promotions the company was planning for the coming festive periods.
