MTEL, The Embattled Network

by Olusola Oyewola
2007-09-11 07:57:36 | Viewed 1773 times

The Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL) which is one of the GSM operators in Nigeria and the mobile arm of Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) has been going through difficult time in term of operation for some months and there appears to be no immediate solution to the company’s persistent failure. All measures taken to rescue this mobile unit of NITEL has so far proved abortive and from all indications it might take a little longer before MTEL find a “saviour”. All the international investors who earlier showed interest in acquiring the company has since backed out just at the last moment, even Vodacom (South African Telecommunication giant) that was believed to have expressed interest in its acquisition denied it to be mere speculations.

That MTEL is hardly recognized as a mobile service provider is not an understatement; the bug with NITEL has finally caught up with its mobile unit such that no matter the measures taken, the company is destined to collapse, so it seems. Its network is presently whirling in angry pool of poor services and mismanagement. Again, such company as this is one of those that expose Africa’s inability to manage their resources themselves, and as a result of their incompetence we remain the least to be connected and consequently the least developed. It is very sad to note that, Africa can not be taken care of by Africans; where other telecommunications from abroad are recording successes their African counterparts will be toddling along, their achievements have always been “one step forward two steps backward”.

But, it has not been always rough for MTEL; indeed the company challenged the services of other operators in its early days and was regarded as a big threat by other service providers. When it came into operation, MTEL was a prayer answered to many who were yet to be connected. The company rolled out at a time when the unhealthy competition among the major mobile service providers was eating deep into subscribers’ pockets. It drew many users to its network by offering very attractive packages that made subscription available to all and sundry.

One of the attractive packages was the reduction in price of sim pack. A sim pack consists of a sim card (which is to be inserted into the mobile equipment) and other manuals which vary from one service provider to another. This was sold for a rather high price by mobile operators making the service available to only those who could afford it thereby denying others the joy of mobile communication. MTEL offered sim card almost for free when it started operation this is because users needed to pay for only the airtime that came with the sim pack. This attracted many new subscribers to its network and those already connected either added it to their network of choice or chose only this network. This reduction in price of sim pack prompted other mobile operators to lower the price of sim packs. And as a result, many sim packs were sold thereby increasing the number of potential subscribers.

Equally, their low tariff was unparallel; for both local and international calls. Really, it was the network of choice through which international calls were placed. Commercial call centers indulged in this low tariff and offered international calls at a very cheap rate to their customers. As such, callers did not need to pay through their nose before international calls could be made and you stayed connected for as long as you could afford. Placing international calls at a lower rate is one thing; clarity during the course of communication is another thing. In Nigeria, placing calls abroad through mobile phones could be very frustrating because most of the time you hardly hear the voice of the speaker at the other end due to poor connection. Many a time callers were forced to route their calls abroad through the internet which is only available in few places. MTEL not compromising their low tariff rate made clarity to calls abroad their priority. In addition to this, they enjoyed wide coverage across the country this however was made possible by the NITEL facilities on ground. Again, it was MTEL that triggered other networks to not only reduce their calls tariff but to also spread their tentacles farther. The company also, introduced low airtime denomination. Before then airtime cards were sold at high price and few denominations were available but this mobile company introduced low airtime to the tune of #100 (less than $1), users now had the choice and did not need to spend fortunes in order to recharge their accounts.

These and others were the services offered by MTEL to their valued customers, valued because its services were customers’ oriented and their services cut across the populace immediately it rolled out unlike when the forerunners came with their services enjoyed first by the “VIPs.” before it later extended to others which was rather after some time. However, these services enjoyed so far were to short lived. The sad story started like a nightmare with constant seizures of voices by erratic network as though there were too much traffic on the network (chewing more they could bite?). Voice calls became extremely difficult to make and users needed to make several attempts before they could get through. Subscribers to the network were stranded and some were left with no choice but to switch to other networks. This was to be the beginning of the failure a mobile telecommunication giant. Other things followed and left it at its present predicament

It appears as tough the network has finally succumbed to the power of MTN, GLOBACOM and CELTEL (the three major mobile communication service provider). Its code number is no longer prominent in the world of telecommunication in the country.

Hope is not however lost and with all the troubles of this company rested at the mercy of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (TRANSCORP), a private sector initiative. It is believed that MTEL will bounce back to life and business to once again catalyze growth rate of telecommunication in the country just as the sector is having the bite of blackberry.

The writer, Olusola Oyewola, is currently a youth corper serving in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, Nigeria.

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