Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has said that the recently held Nigeria Technology Innovation and Telecom Awards (NTITA) was carefully planned and organised to foster healthy competition in the Nigerian telecom industry.
Giving remarks at the ceremony, Teniola said; “ATCON took the initiative to give awards to some government institutions and telecom and IT companies that have led innovation and creativity in the last few years to reposition the efficiency of the industry. This innovation has impacted positively on the products and services being rendered by all these organisations and ATCON thought the only way to encourage further innovation in the industry is to reward those who are not resting on their oars but striving to make a difference in the sector,” he said.
Teniola also mentioned that the recognition and appreciation of good service will drive further investment into the sector.
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“It is believed that the adoption of creativity and innovation would automatically lead to further investment in the sector both locally and internationally. Innovations require further investments for its continuity and ATCON plans to use this reward system in the form of giving awards to establishments who see innovation as a key driver of the industry and are acknowledged and motivated to do more,” he said.
Appreciating Medallion Communications, an indigenous interconnectivity provider that received two awards on the day, the President said that the company has worked very hard to earn awards as the Interconnect Provider of the year, and Telecom Solution Support Company of the year and he optimistic that Medallion would not let the Association down in terms of its strategic offerings (products and services).
Medallion Communications which was recognised as “Nigeria’s Telehouse” believes that the two awards won are an industry appreciation for excellence, as no other facility in Nigeria has a higher concentration of all the service providers and is responsible for sustaining Nigeria’s telecom and ICT industry.
Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO, Medallion communications said these awards would definitely make them intensify their efforts so that they can maintain their leading position in the telecom industry and it would also spur them to redefine interconnectivity and data centre services in the telecom industry and he dedicated the awards to the employees of medallion.
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Medallion provides services ranging from all the international submarine cable operators; all the national long-distance operators; metro fibre service providers; all Mobile, Fixed Line, Fixed Wireless, ISPs, Value Added Service Providers, and LTE operators; major critical national infrastructure including the Nigerian Internet Exchange and local content hosting companies.
Speaking on the Telecoms industry’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Teniola said; “Our thinking is that if we decide to ignore the contribution that our sector has made to the development of Nigeria by not recognising the actors that made it possible, what we are saying invariably is that we are ungrateful to their concerted efforts in changing the story of our industry by the Nigerian government.
We hope with this initiative of rewarding excellence, the Nigerian government would pay more attention to our sector by removing all barriers that are militating against the growth of our industry,” he added.
Jumoke Akiyode- Lawanson
