Telecoms operators in Nigeria under the umbrella body of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has appealed to state governments to reduce the costs of obtaining Right of Way (RoW).
Making the appeal in Lagos, the chairman of the association, Gbenga Adebayo, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the operators are happy with the decision of the government of Lagos state to reduce the RoW costs in the state. He then urged other state governments to do same in order to move the telecoms industry forward.
RoW is the official permit that an operator must obtain from the government before it can deploy telecoms infrastructure.
Adebayo said other state governments should emulate Lagos state in order to ensure even deployment of telecoms services across the nation.
He said: “We are very pleased about this development and we thank the Lagos State Government for being forward looking.
“We also appreciate Lagos State for seeing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a tool for job creation and economic development, more than for revenue generation.
“Lagos has shown good leadership in this regard and we hope other states will take a queue from the good example set by LASG in this regard,” he said. The ALTON chairman said the reduction would allow for speedy infrastructure and broadband roll out in the state.
Lagos State recently reduced the telecoms taxes and levies in the state by over 40 per cent, while RoW charges were slashed to N500 per linear metre, down from N5000.
The state government said the reduction was on the condition that operators would use its approved and qualified contractors. It explained that it was to ensure the integrity of the roads after the fibre had been installed.
