The Executive Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Ernest Ndukwe has given reasons the frontline telecommunications service provider would not be able to provide cheaper voice and data services, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown, for its teeming subscribers, insisting such an action might lead to chaos, thereby defeating the purpose of such gesture.
The former CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in a recent interview, published in one of the nation’s frontline publications, argued that while the network would want to do more during the period, it must also ensure that its overall capacity was not exceeded.
Ndukwe argued that exceeding such capacity would have catastrophic effects for all, since no one would be able to communicate.
He added that provision of free or cheaper access to voice and data services, would amount to an astronomical rise in the usage level, which in turn would end up congesting the network.
“And once the network is congested, what it means is that nobody will be able to communicate, thereby defeating the purpose of such gesture,” he stated.
While reiterating the company’s commitment to finding the optimal balance between enhanced access and network availability and stability, the MTN Nigeria boss however stated that the telecoms service provider had commenced making specific investments to ensure that such venture would be possible in future.
“The NCC has also been working to support network stability. They have been supportive and have provided us with additional backhaul (E-Band) spectrum to support us in alleviating congestion issues in the core network.
“We sincerely appreciate the need to offer some relief to our customers at this time, but we need to balance such demand with availability of the network,” he stated.
Ndukwe disclosed that the company, in consequence, took the decision to offer every one of its subscribers 300 free SMS per month, to support the requirement for communication, without threatening the capacity of the network.
“I think the importance of the SMS intervention may not have been fully understood. The vast majority of our customers are people who do not have smartphones and can therefore not do data-enabled services like WhatsApp, FaceTime and browsing.
“This segment is the most vulnerable, and requires the most help. So while access to SMS services might not be what everyone wants, it’s vital to millions of our people who continue to use it as their primary means of communication,” he added.