Omobola Johnson, the Minister of Communication Technology has said five states alongside Lagos has indicated interest in the smarter city initiative designed to create futuristic communication and knowledge infrastructure for urban development.[blockquote right=”pull-right” cite=”Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication Technology“]The governments of Gombe, Bayelsa, Ondo, Anambra and Katsina, have indicated this interests and will join Lagos State that had earlier signed an agreement with the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to reduce the cost of RoW from N3,000 to N500 per metre by a significant reduction of 85%, Johnson added.[/blockquote]
The four new states, Gombe, Bayelsa, Ondo, Anambra and Katsina will partner towards reduction or outright removal of right of way charges in their respective domains.
The CommTech Minister dropped the hint at the 4th Broadband Council Meeting held recently in Lagos adding that the initiative will help tackle the issue of multiple taxation which will in turn drive sustainable socio-economic development among the participating states.
The governments of Gombe, Bayelsa, Ondo, Anambra and Katsina, have indicated this interests and will join Lagos State that had earlier signed an agreement with the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to cut the cost of RoW from N3,000 to N500 per metre by a significant reduction of 85%, Johnson added.
According to her, the RoW charges has over the years eaten deep into the pocket of many telcos in the country and contributes to the low or poor quality of service by the operators.
”Previous research by the Ministry has revealed that RoW charges, levies and taxes contribute about 70% to the cost of rolling out infrastructure in several states”, the Minister said.
She further explained that a collaborative agreement between the Ministries of Communication Technology, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has been gazetted and placed to ease bottlenecks faced by telcos during base station deployment.
She said that “an MOU outlining the roles and responsibilities of each department with respect to base station deployment and approvals of Environmental Impact Assessments necessary for effective service delivery in the telecoms sector is now operational.”
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