Reps ask telecom firms to impact host communities

• He further stated that the legislature will work collaboratively with the executive arm of government and investors in the telecommunications sector to find amicable solutions to some of the major challenges in the operating environment
  

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The House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications on Friday urged the executive committee of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria to prevail on telecommunication operators in the country to impact their host communities positively through corporate social responsibility.

The Chairman of the Committee and member representing Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency, Edo State, Peter Akpatason, made the request at an interactive session with ATCON executive members who were at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, on a courtesy visit.

He further stated that the legislature will work collaboratively with the executive arm of government and investors in the telecommunications sector to find amicable solutions to some of the major challenges in the operating environment.

He pledged his readiness to set up a committee comprising both the members of the House and the operators in the industry to ensure that issues of security, investment in critical infrastructure, and enabling legislation are properly addressed.

The lawmaker also identified lack of access to funds, local content-enabling legislation, high tariff charges, and security as some of the challenges affecting the sector.

Also speaking, the spokesman for the House, Akin Rotimi, called for the even distribution of telecom masts to improve service delivery.

Earlier in an address, the National President of the association, Mr Tony Emoekpere, said that the operators in the telecommunications sector are facing many challenges, owing largely to a harsh operating environment.

He stated that except for concessionary funding from key stakeholders, the sector cannot operate at full capacity, even as he called on the legislators to assist the sector to take its services to rural communities many of which, he said still live in an analogue world.