Visafone to dominate mobile money

TELECOMS

By BiztechAfrica - April 12, 2012, 10:18 a.m.

Image: Jim Ovia. By BiztechAfrica

By Lukas Ajanaku, Lagos, Nigeria

The Chairman of Visafone Communications Limited, Jim Ovia, has assured the telco’s numerous subscribers in Nigeria that, as a leader in the code division multiple access (CDMA) sub-sector of the telecoms industry in Nigeria, it will play leading role in the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN)Cashlite Lagos, an initiative designed to institutionalise use of alternative means transacting business other than carrying physical cash.

The chairman also pledged to be at the forefront in the area of broadband internet services provision in the country.

The CDMA sub-sector has been under intense pressure generated by the neck-to-neck competition unleashed on the industry by the GSM players, most of whom benefited immensely from one form of waiver or the other from the government.

Recently, there were calls for a “bail-out” fund for the CDMA but the regulator of the sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said there would be no bail out.

Ovia, who spoke through the Managing Director, Sailesh Iyer, at the company’s Dealers’ Meet in Lagos, also said the firm had clinched an award for excellent service provision of telecom services in the country.

Ovia said that the company’s strategic plan would guarantee that “exciting times are ahead of us with mobile money, Cashless Nigeria and convergence, slated to encompass our lives. Visafone and our perfect partner Family are getting ready to take leadership positions in all of these. We at Visafone shall aspire to pioneer innovative solutions in the market place with pocket friendly solutions and offerings. We are also set to introduce new and exciting devices through our network, including tablets and affordable smart phones.”

Outlining a detailed 3-year road-map for the company leading up to 2015, Ovia said: “We are all set to embark on a new journey focused on the new paradigm of market dynamics by expanding our voice and data network on which we are investing billions of naira. I believe the aggressive internet penetration will lead to the economic growth of Nigeria and is the future and we will drive this by investing on the infrastructure ahead of time to reap the benefits.”

He said: “It is estimated that by 2015, Nigerians will be using wireless broadband services worth N600 billion, and it will have 70 million internet users.”

“As our future growth strategy we will also be deploying the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Technology as soon as the infrastructure and other resources are available to keep us at par with the global competitive environment.”

Speaking on the award, he said: “Visafone has been declared first having been adjudged Excellent in its 2011 Report released December 19, 2011 by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in the defined Parameters of Service namely: CSSR (Call Set up Success Rate) TCHCon (Traffic Channel Congestion) CCR (Call Completion Rate).”