Ernest Ndukwe is the Executive Chairman, MTN Nigeria. Prior to his appointment as a non-Executive Director at the leading telecommunications firm he was the CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria’s Telecommunications Regulatory Agency from 2000 to 2010, and proceeded to preside over the building of an internationally respected institution. Under his tenure at the NCC, the ICT industry witnessed tremendous growth and transformation, leading to what has been generally referred to as the era of Nigeria’s Telecommunication Revolution.
He recently spoke to the Guardian’s Adeyemi Adepetun and cleared the air on pertinent industry issues as well as the widespread claim linking 5G technology to COVID-19.
When asked how he thinks the pandemic has affected Nigerian businesses, Mr. Ndukwe responded that the level of impact will depend on the nature of the organisation.
“While understanding the impact on us and other big businesses is important, I am much more concerned about the implications for the micro, small and medium-sized businesses and petty traders across the country; many of whom are in our supply chain. We are committed to supporting our partners and our eco-system, but the longer the shutdown goes on, the graver that impact will be and the greater the support these businesses will require. Small and micro-businesses make up the vast majority of Nigeria’s productivity, and they remain at the forefront of our thinking during this time.”Speaking on the call by subscribers for operators to cut their voice and data, the telecommunications doyen explained that the priority for network operators at this time is to ensure that overall network capacity is not exceeded.
“We know that people want to do more during this time, but we must ensure that the overall network capacity is not exceeded, which would have catastrophic effects for all and mean that no one would be able to communicate at all. If we provide free or cheaper access to voice and data services, then the usage level would go up astronomically, and we might get to a level where the network gets so congested that nobody will be able to communicate, defeating the purpose. We are committed to ensuring we find the optimal balance between enhanced access and network availability and stability. We are making specific investments to ensure that this could be possible in future.
