Stakeholders blame lack of investment in network for narrow band

Telecommunications stakeholders have decried poor internet services delivered to subscribers in the country in the guise of broadband even with the launch of 4G LTE, blaming it on operators’ inability to muster financial muscle to invest in network upgrade required to deliver truly reliable and fast broadband.

According to them, ‘narrow band delivered to subscribers in the pretence of broadband fall short of what broadband internet should be, because, some of them are not using the required spectrum for 4G LTE service but rather using what they have to delivered the service.

More so, they are not investing in the network to be able to deliver 4G LTE service because they don’t see the prospect of return on their investment with the prevailing economic situation in the country’.

Engr. Sam Adeleke, chief executive officer, Steineng Ltd, said that 4G LTE should give subscribers faster speed and bigger bandwidth without limit to what the subscriber can do with it.

“What we see in the market place today is the claim of unlimited service while pegging the subscriber on 60GB, what happens is that at the beginning the service will be fast by the time you are exhausting the 60gigabyte you were pegged at the service will no longer be fast and you find it difficult to download some files.’”

“This is not broadband. If we have broadband it means unlimited capacity and volume which is provided today in the country by very few operators. LTE broadband does not limit you. What we see in the industry is operators using existing technology to offer new service.”

He attributed the situation to lack of investment in the network to be able to deliver the required service and therefore urged Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to educate stakeholders on the required standard for broadband service.

Corroborating Adeleke, David Venn, chief executive officer, Spectranet, said that some operators were in a hurry to launch 4G LTE since they can’t get dollar to buy equipment and cannot get foreign or local funding to invest in the new network, they decided to use existing technology to offer new service that does not deliver required broadband service.