ALTON seeks policy breather for ailing CDMA

Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has called for policy flexibility in favour of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators.

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON Chairman, said in Lagos that the federal government should give the operators access to capital and other incentives to survive.

“With the declining CDMA operation in Nigeria, there is urgent need to help the operators remain in business in order to allow for the continuity of their operations, which has cheaper tariff than GSM service,” he said.

Adebayo called on telecommunications regulators to revisit the interconnect rate model and give preferential treatment to CDMA operators.

CDMA is a wireless communication technology that allows multiple people to use a single radio channel at the same time with little interference and very high security.

Adebayo said that CDMA operators still existed and had subscribers but were not as prominent as they used to be. “The fact remains that the choice of technology being used now does not favour CDMA operators,’’ he said.

The chairman noted that CDMA lines were mostly used in the country in the past.

He said that the use of the CDMA lines was reduced as a result of stiff competition with GSM operators.

Adebayo said that GSM operators churned out innovative and exciting products for subscribers and lowered call tariffs and SIM cards, causing decline in the number of subscribers on CDMA network.

Adebayo said that GSM operators’ subscriber base had continued to rise to the disadvantage of CDMA operators.

According to statistics released by the Nigeria Communications Commission for 2018, active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria rose from 149 million in March to 160 million in April.