Telecom expert seeks lower RoW charges in CNII implementation

By Fummilola Gboteku 

Lifi.Net, a network company has urged the government to reduce right of way(RoW) charges in the implementation of the recently passed Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order.

 

Mr Abraham Oluwambe, Chief Executive Officer of Lifi.Net, made the appeal while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.

 

He said that the effective implementation of the CNII provision should not just protect deployed assets but also guarantee seamless rollout of more backbone infrastructure for digital economy drive.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government recently designated telecoms and ICT assets in the country as critical national infrastructure to guarantee their safety and protection through the passage of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc,) Amendment Act 2024.

 

The telecoms expert in the Internet Service Provider (ISP) space said that the passage of the CNII was commendable, noting that it would help reduce attacks on infrastructure.

 

According to Oluwambe, operators have suffered huge losses dealing with theft, vandalism of telecoms and ICT facilities or arbitrary shutdown of sites by state agencies.

 

He however noted that more importantly, achieving reduced right of way charges and imposition of different taxes on operators in the course of rolling out services should also be a major consideration in implementing the CNII.

 

“If there is any bottleneck that should be removed to accelerate the rate of bridging digital access gaps in Nigeria, it should be RoW abolition at best or its reduction to a reasonable amount at least.

 

“Inflated RoW charges challenge in many states of the federation is inimical to investment appetite in the ISPs space, thus, creating a barrier against robust connectivity in the hinterlands and remote areas.

 

“The new CNII regime is expected to lead to safety of telecoms facilities and protection of operations of telecoms companies, given that the advocacy to have the bill passed lasted more than a decade, “Oluwambe said.

 

He said now that it had been passed, stakeholders must work in tandem with the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA), the body saddled with the implementation tasks, to make the passage count for something.

 

Oluwambe added that the industry must pay close attention to the issue of right of way charges imposed by state actors so that the state leaders could be made to see things differently.

Source :NAN