RURAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS RURAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANCY CONSULTANCY
CASE STUDYCASE STUDY
By Mr. Anthony c. OjoboSpecial Assistant to the
Executive vice-chairmanNigerian communications commission
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INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
New Telecom Policy
NCC’s responsibility for Universal Access under the NTP•Promote market initiatives•Define development targets etc for short and long term national community access•Design appropriate strategies for achieving the above which will include; but not limited to the following;
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……Continuation:Continuation:
l Establishment of USFl Opening the market in unserved areas i.e. (Rural
areas)l Public call offices (PCO’s) Projectsl Establishment of multipurpose Community
Telecenters (MCT’s)l Roll-out obligations on operators etc.l Encourage public/private financing of
infrastructure developments.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF A RURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A RURAL AREAAREA
l Lack of infrastructures such as; water, roads, electricity etc.
l Lack of skilled or limited skilled manpowerl Difficult topographyl Severe climatic conditions in some casesl Low level of economic activityl Low income per capital Lacking social amenities, hospitals, post offices,
schools etc.
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..Continuation:..Continuation:
l Low Population densityl High cost of service provision per line
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RATIONALE FOR NCC RT INITIATIVERATIONALE FOR NCC RT INITIATIVE
l Responsibility under the new NTPl Inadequate infrastructurel Low penetration in RA’sl Telcos reluctance to deploy in RA’sl Low teledensityl Urban migration.
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HOW NIGERIA HAS FAIRED IN PROVISION OF TELECOM HOW NIGERIA HAS FAIRED IN PROVISION OF TELECOM SERVICES COMPAIRED TO A NUMBER OF COUNTRIESSERVICES COMPAIRED TO A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES
l COUNTRY POPULATION TELEDENSITYl Nigeria 120 million 0.4 (1999)l Senegal 8.6 million 1.2l Cameroon 13.5 million 0.86l Algeria 29 million 6.20l Egypt 57.5 million 6.12l Kenya 29 million 0.98l South Africa 34 million 11.2l USA 94.0l CANADA 97.0
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CURRENT WORLD REPORTCURRENT WORLD REPORT
l ITU World Telecom Report 1998 on rural telecom penetration indicates that;
l Rural areas in developing countries have 8.9 residential lines per 100 household and 0.56 Public Payphones per 1000 inhabitants.
l 102.7 and 5.17 respectively for developed countries.
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l RURAL AREA DEFINEDAn isolated and poorly served area, where various factors interact to make establishment or provision of telecommunications services difficult.
l Universal Access What is it?
l Universal Service What is it?
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UNIVERSAL SERVICEUNIVERSAL SERVICE
At least a telephone per household.
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Appointment of ConsultantsAppointment of Consultants
lWorld Bank (Funding)l USAIDl NTCA (International Consultant)l GBF (Local Consultant)
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ROLE OF CONSULTANTSROLE OF CONSULTANTS
Advise onl Ownership structurel Technologyl Financing Mechanismsl Trainingl Programme viabilityl Sustainability
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WORKSHOPWORKSHOP
l (CBO’s) and NGO’sObjectivesl Identify and design appropriate Community
Consultation model including theCommunities
l To draw from the experience of CBO’s on modalities for executing Community based programmes.
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l Identify relevant stakeholders.l Articulate a programme for a National
Stake holders workshop.
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ISSUES COVERED AND ADOPTEDISSUES COVERED AND ADOPTED
l Necessity and Rationall Universal Accessl Rural Telecoms Services Agency l Ownership and Controll Subsidiesl Equitabilityl Government Support through
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l Enabling regulatory environmentl Provision of Infrastructures, electricity,
roads, etc.l Universal Access Fund.l Funding and FinancinglManagement structurel Stakeholders participation
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l Training/capacity buildingl National Stakeholders forum and the
launching of initiative.
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DECLARATIONSDECLARATIONS
l That CBTs providers be set up l Rural Communities be empowered through
provision of RTsl To be Community based, owned and controlledl Pilot projects to start in some communities in the
six geo political zonesl Nation-wide Community Consultations
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l Involve all stakeholdersl Government role to be reducedl Low interest loans for start-up to be provided
through the USF.l Training should be providedl Set up an agency for USF.
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COMMUNITY CONSULTANTIONSCOMMUNITY CONSULTANTIONSA) Consultation Modell Baseline Data gathering such as;
– Demographic and geographical data (e.g. population, location, Age distribution etc.)
– Economic data (e.g. income levels, principal economic activities etc)
– Available infrastructure (e.g. roads, water, electricity etc)
– Nearest telecom infrastructure (e.g. telephone exchange, masts, towers etc).
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INTERACTIVE SESSIONSINTERACTIVE SESSIONS
B) Introductions– Overview of NCC objectives– Discussions of the objective– Questions and Answer Sessions on;– Community needs and priorities – Previous CD initiatives or efforts– Ownership structure
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l Cost considerationsl Fundingl Trainingl Previous or Current ICT initiatives if anyl Methods for distance Communicationsl Explanations of terms such as telecenter, phone
shop, cybercafe, MCT’s etc.
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Over view of States and Over view of States and Communities visitedCommunities visited
l Enugu State - Ukana, Udi Local Government Area - CBO, CIDJAP
l Umokpala, Egede LGAl Delta State - Isheaga, Ogawashu LGAl Anambra State - Oraifite, Ekwusigo LGAl Edo State - Egbae, Uhunmwode LGAl Abia State - Amaekpu, Ohafia LGAl Cross River State - Akamkpa, Akamkpa LGA
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l Akwa Ibom State - Ukuo, Esit Eket LGAl Ogun State - Atan, Ijedu North-East LGAl Oyo State - Igangan, Ibarapa LGAl Ekiti State - Itapaji LGAl Kano State - Yadakwari, Garum Mallam LGAl Gombe State - Tula, Kaltungo LGAl Yobe State - Fika, Fika LGAl Bauchi State - Gar, Al Kaleri LGA
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NEGATIVE FINDINGSNEGATIVE FINDINGS
l Lack of basic social infrastructuresl Low income level, mostly peasant farmers, and
small scale tradersl No access to telecom services in all communities
visitedl Average of 30km to the nearest call centre in all
communities visited.l Low literacy level
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l Dispersed population in some areas (e.g. Northern regions)
l Higher costs incurred on transportation than cost of telephone calls for same distance e.g. Ukana Community (Enugu State) one way transportation cost is higher than the cost of a 3 minutes trunk call to same distance.
l Limited skilled manpower.
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POSITIVE FINDINGSPOSITIVE FINDINGS
l Willing Partnersl History of CD efforts and strong desire for
telecom servicesl Expressed preference for Community ownershipl Most Communities were within 30 - 40km away
from a NITEL Microwave relay towerl Ready to donate lands, buildings, and in some
areas, volunteered to pay the local personnel.
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l LGA willing to fund RT in some of the Communities
l Ready to pay for use of services
l Good understanding of benefits.
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NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON PROMOTING UNIVERSAL NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON PROMOTING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN RURAL AREAS ACCESS TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN RURAL AREAS
OF NIGERIAOF NIGERIA
lWorkshop objectives– Create awareness– Consultation with stakeholders– Discuss findings of Community Consultations– Articulate ideas for sustainable Rural Telecom – Institutional arrangement options
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l Issues– Institutional arrangement – Ownership structure– Funding– USF– Government Participation– Technology– Legal/Regulatory Framework
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COMMUNIQUECOMMUNIQUE
l Telecom-Key to socio-economic development and transformation
l Community ownership and managementl Empowerment through capacity building for
the RTSPl Public/Private Partnership
l FGN should offer incentives to Communities
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– Waivers, tax holiday, L&R Framework.– Provision of infrastructures, roads electricity,
water etc.
• Establish a USF to be privately managed• Create appropriate conditions for funding of
RTSPs.• Collaboration with Rural Micro-finance
Intermediaries, CBO’s and NGO’s
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• Encourage transfer of ICT skills by building capacity for management staff and other personnel of RTSP’s.
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CURRENT TRENDSCURRENT TRENDS
l Policies adopted by some countries to achieve universal access.
l POLICY COUNTRYl Placing Service obligations to reach certain categories of l community on newly privatized monopoly operators Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Perul Enforcing rural percentages for new competitive entrants, l monopoly concessions, reformed or partially privatized operators India, Indonesia, Malaysia Botswanal Offering monopoly licences for services areas which are predominantly rural Czech Republic, Hungary,
Bangladesh, Venezuelal Allowing competitive entry or cooperative service providers to serve rural areas Argentina, Polandl Trying rural obligations to attractive international gateway, cellular or value-added operating licences
Philippines, South Africal Offering Telecommunication Development fund finance for areas not covered by main operator obligations
Chile, Peru
