By Emmanuel Elebeke
IN keeping to its dream of  becoming  a responsible cooperate entity in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria says it has paid over N300 billion to the different tiers of government in charges and taxes from 2001 till date.

Mr. Quasim Adekenle disclosed this at MTN capacity building workshop organized in conjunction with Philips Consulting, Lagos.

Adekunle who spoke as a resource person at the event said the company was able to spent the amount due to its commitment to be a leading telecommunication company in Nigeria in terms of quality of service delivery and in response to the competition engendered by the industry regulator which had brought unprecedented access to network and added value to the  millions of Nigerian users.

Speaking on the topic “Overview of Topical Regulatory Issues,” Adekunle noted that telecommunication sector has over the time proved to be the driver of economic growth in view of its enormous contribution to the growth of global economy and reinstated MTN’s resolve to explore every  opportunity to offer world class services to its numerous customers in Nigeria, through mobile network, voice and data services, describing mobile phone as the most powerful tool for economic development of any nation.

Assessing, the impact of competition in the Nigerian telecom landscape since the coming of GSM in 2001, Adekunle said the industry needed more competition and not regulation which he said could guarantee quality of service delivery to the subscribers, adding that such development if encouraged would usher in fair tariff regime and efficiency in the system compared with reducing the tariff through a regulatory fiat as it is being canvassed by some interest groups.

According to him, looking at the unprecedented growth in the industry since GSM joined the fray eight years ago and the benefits to the economy, he called for more support to the operators in the industry to enable them serve better.

He listed such benefits to include: the emergence of two national careers, 13 Universal Access Service Licenses (UASL), seven interconnect exchange licensees, 10 collocation service  licenses, 13 fixed wireless access license and 35 fixed telephony operators. He however, regretted that some companies in the industry are exploring the loopholes in the law to owe other operators through the interconnectivity exchange services, describing it as an unhealthy precedence capable of inhibiting industry growth and hampering harmonious relationship among the operators in the industry.

For instance, he revealed  that Nigeria telecommunication limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, MTEL are presently owing MTN over N10 billion as part of interconnect fees services rendered to them by the later before their trouble started.

But said that the company is not relenting in  exploring available means within the law to recover the debt. Also speaking at the event, MTN data and devices manager, Mr. Tayo Judge said the company apart from voting one percent of its profit annually for its corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is also investing more money to maintain and protect its infrastructure and base stations across the country.

To achieve its rural telephony penetration drive, he said MTN had empowered many Nigerians through the creation of community phones, just as he said it had extended its 3G services to about 10 cities in Nigeria, with plans to cover the whole country next year.

“The focus is therefore shifting towards driving customer participation to create memorable brand experiences. With our expansion exercise on voice channels, SMS, video, email and interactive voice response, we are poised at delivering world class services to our Nigerian customers.” he said.