In Nigeria and other African countries, the belief is that unscrupulous business men go to China to buy substandard information communication technology (ICT) equipment. But, in this interview with LUCAS AJANAKU, the Managing Director, Huawei Nigeria, Mr Pang Jimin, says his firm, as an international original equipment manufacturer (OEM), does not engage in such unethical practices. He says despite the challenges, the future of telecoms is bright for the country, adding that service quality will get better as the power sector reform takes firm root.
Impressions about Nigeria
I have been in Nigeria for about eight years. I see Nigeria as a country that is developing very fast because since I came here, I have see a lot of transformation. The people are very industrious and dynamic. All these are responsible for the impressive development in the economy.
So, the economy is growing and the future is bright.
Huawei in Nigeria
Actually, Huawei are leaders in the ICT industry. We are serving not only the telecoms sector but also in the banking, oil and gas industries.
Basically, we have our footprints in all industries because every industry uses information technology. So, our experience is that Nigerians need good quality service. They are eager to have a good quality of service.
We will keep on working to improve the quality of lives of people hrough ICT. So, the future is actually very bright because what I see is that the need of the Nigerians are similar to that of other people from other parts of the world. There are some unique requirements which we feel are unique requirements for the Nigerians.
On regulatory environment
Generally, let us say if the score is from between zero and 10, zero meaning there is no regulation, 10 meaning strictly regulated. Globally, Nigeria’s regulatory environment is moderate. It is in the middle; that is, it is neither too harsh nor too soft. What I feel is that the regulation here is not bad at all and not a disincentive to investment. That is my personal opinion. Generally, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) is regulating what it should regulate. The regulatory environment is also business-friendly as it is creating a level-playing field for all players.
Challenges of poor telecoms services despite huge investment
I think if we compare Nigeria with countries, such as China, United States (US) or maybe European countries, the major differences are two. One is power. In Nigeria, there is no stable power supply. In those other countries, power is not an issue because you know where there is no power, no matter what you do, the equipment cannot function. Secondly, is the optic fibre cable network. Basically, in China, Europe, US or more advanced countries, there are massive optic fibre cable network. However, in Nigeria most of the network is basically driven on microwave. So, when there is a whirlwind or it becomes dirty, it affects the signal quality and inevitably, the quality of service. Those are the two major differences between this country and others.
And, for us, equipment supplier, that is the situation because the equipment we supply in Nigeria is the same with what we supply when we do job in China, in US or in Europe.
The major problem is power and dearth of optic fibre cables.
Investments on optic fibre cable infrastructure Actually from my perspective, during the last eight and half years, the story has become better. You see mobile users in Nigeria have become much bigger than before. Eight years ago, when I came into this country, I am not sure there were so many users. Now, you have so many mobile phone users in the country. Now, you have over 100million users in the country. I don’t need to mention the traffic.
No matter the traffic of data, it has become much more than before.
So, actually, what I see is that under this situation, the operators are not doing a bad job because though there are other challenges, they are still trying to improve the quality of service as they grow the user base for the same network. You see, it is easier for you to supply one service provider; it is more difficult for you to supply to one million users. So, the trouble is the work load, the difficulty compared to eight years ago. So, if we think about it from a different angle, actually the operators are trying their best. I have no doubts about that.
On licensing more operators
The number of operators in Nigeria is moderate; it is somehow in the middle. You know in some places, such as China, there are only three major telecoms operators and in some countries in Europe, they have maybe more than seven operators.
So, Nigeria’s is in the middle range. It’s not too small or too many because, as I said, Nigeria has the population and many telecoms operators, such as China. So, I don’t see any problem in that.
Should NCC stop operators from adding new subscribers?
I think first of all, that is dependent on the regulator’s wish but my opinion is that it may not be too good if any step is taken to stop people from getting access to telephony. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is encouraging universal access to telephony. But regulators should think about what is best for the industry. The same way operators should also be moving forward because from my view, it may not be the best idea to stop them. To be frank, a lot of the Nigerians see the bad side of the country but, as a foreigner and having worked and lived in this country over the past eight years, I see the brighter side because I have discovered that what people get carried away with is perception which is different from what is on ground. The economy keeps getting better. The economy is growing; everything has become better. I see the country moving in the right direction. This is not to say there are no challenges but as a foreigner, I am optimistic that the future is bright for the economy and the good people of Nigeria.
Quality of telecoms equipment shipped into Nigeria
Yes, I have heard people talk about this but I can only speak for Huawei. I cannot speak for other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)/vendors. The equipment we supply to Nigeria and also the services we render, all the software and hardware; everything we supply to this country are the same in terms of international standard. It is the same equipment we supply everywhere we work across the globe. It is the same we supply even in China, US, European, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, Latin American countries. They are all the same. We do not make different equipment or reduce the quality of equipment we supply to any country. We are an international company with long standing reputation which we will not do anything to rubbish.
Business perating environment challenges
I think the major challenge is to convince the people to move in a little bit faster than they want to.
Let me give an example. Several years ago in some sectors, we rarely see the trend of people adopting technology so easily because sometimes, the customers are a little bit conservative. They are still wondering whether they should go or not. So, they wait maybe for another one or two years before they make their decision. Sometimes, they have their own considerations but from my point of view, sometimes they are getting a little bit faster.
The business operating environment is fair. It could be better but it is giving operators space to play which is good. Honestly speaking, the players in the economy and the regulators should keep innovating. That is the only way to go. This is why I say the country will continue to grow better and better as everybody strives to do things better.
Dearth of fixed lines
I think it is not an easy decision to choose between which technology option that can provide a better service at the same time have lower cost because in this country. Mobile telephone service cost is lower in other countries while the fixed line is higher. It is easier also and faster to deploy mobile network in Nigeria with vast its population.
As I said, fixed line is good for its quality. It is as strong and resilient as fibre because if the fibre network is everywhere, the network quality will be better. So, at the same time, I know laying fibre is very expensive.
Resilience of Huawei’s mobile phones
Our mobile phones are very strong. Basically, for Huawei, smartphones because you know we are the one that designed the network, we have the technology and set the technical standard. But to be frank with you, to do smartphone is quite easy for us because we provide telecom network for operators and for all kinds of persons.
So, smartphone manufacturing is easy for us. Secondly, the weight of our smartphone is actually very low. The Ascend P7 is 6.5mm slim with a five-inch FHD touch screen display. It is the slimmest 4G smartphone in the world and manufactured to withstand everyday wear and tear with enriched strength durability from Coming Gorilla Glass three front and rea covers.
It has a sleek glass back with a seven-layer treatment-mirroring the face of premium watches. So you, see, we manufacture premium products for customers. The Ascend P7’s 8 megapixel front camera with panoramic Selfie help users to put themselves in those stunning skylines and horizons.
To achieve this, the phone user is only expected to opne the camera application, select the front facing camera, then select Panorama and capture a three-shot panorama image which is made possible with Sony’s newest 13 megapixel IMX214 sensor. It camera captures up to 56 per cent more light thereby giving brighter, sharper and more detailed shots.
We don’t produce cheap product that is a rip off. Ours is a premium brand. We always believe to provide the best quality at the same time with some more affordable pricing.
Evolution of technology
Yes, technology has been evolving from 2G to 3G and now 4G or long term evolution (LTE). This has actually changed people’s lifestyle.
About six years ago, when there was no smartphone in the market, people used to call each other. To be frank with you, all the people don’t call each other, they text each other. But with the smartphones, they now also using social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. We are the one providing the platform and the structure behind the scheme. So, basically, yes, what you see, maybe you see a smartphone, you see a software Twitter or Facebook, we are the one behind the technological stage providing the technology, network, quality services for people.