M-Tel plans catch up in mobile marketVanguardngr writes…..PRIOR to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s major coup against the state owned Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) with his 2001 liberalisation of the telecom market, Nigerians had to suffer embarrassing moments just to acquire a telephone line.
Former Communications Minister General David Mark (now a Senator of the Federal Republic) publicly stated then that telephone wasn’t meant for the poor. But the President Obasanjo’s administration’s policy shift changed all that, and now the once all powerful NITEL is a pale shadow of its past and its mobile arm, M-Tel appears now ready to stage a ‘catch up game’ with major players in the bubbling Nigerian market.
Mr. Ladi Williams, newly appointed acting Managing Director of M-Tel expressed the hope that the company has a bright future, especially against a backdrop of a recent contract it signed with four leading equipment manufacturers — Ericsson, Motorola, ZTE and Huawei— to re-engineer the ailing company back to life.
“The new initiatives for M-Tel would ensure a quick return to the path of recovery for greater competitiveness for the Nigerian mobile market,� said Williams. He projected that although current mobile subscriber base is placed at 38 million, against a population figure of over 140 million by the 2006 population census figures, the sector has a capacity for additional 30 million subscribers in the near future. “I believe that there are approximately 38 million subscribers in Nigeria and this country can take another 30 million. There is nothing wrong with M-Tel grabbing 5 –– 6 million of that number.�
NITEL was recently sold to a Nigerian conglomerate, Transcorp plc and the company announced it was ready to inject fresh N11.3 billion towards restoring the mobile company back to life. Ladi Williams, said the Board of M-Tel has endorsed a two-pronged quick-fix solution of “network restoration and network expansion� in order to fast track the current efforts to get M-Tel back on track to face market competition.
The CEO said an initial $345m (approximately N4.3billion) for the network expansion job with the four multinational, while another N7bn would be expended on the network restoration project. He hinged his optimism on the fact that all four firms are well-grounded in understanding of M-Tel’s profile and the mobile landscape in Nigeria.
Mr. Williams said the new management has embarked on an intensive restructuring of the company’s workforce and riding it of unproductive staff that are likely to compromise or slow down on-going drive to remove the lethargic civil service orientation to a more pragmatic market force driven enterprise. “As we embark on this new threshold of rebuilding our company, it is obvious that a lot must change in the tradition, culture and convention that has become the norm in our attitude and approach to work ethics,� Williams said.
“While it is certain that those who have little to contribute to M-Tel, in the new direction and spirit of enterprise that the company is headed, would be excited, the good news is that those who have sown their hearts and skills for the growth of the company have a seat to keep in the new company.�
