TheCable

Telecommunications companies in Nigeria have said that they are relocating their network operating centres (NOCs) to India to seek economic relief.

Olusola Teniola, president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), told Daily Trust that the relocation should not be interpreted as an exit from Nigeria.

The NOC is the platform where technicians monitor and control the network so that subscribers can access their services.

“The telecoms firms are not packing out of Nigeria lock-stock-and-barrel,” he said.

He said that the solution providers in India are “extremely good at reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) relating to aspects of operation within a telecom’s business model to an exceedingly low level without compromising quality of service delivery.”

Teniola said back office and call center functions can be operated outside a company’s core network infrastructure adding that some operators have been based in India for several years.

“ATCON is not surprised that some of its members have finally joined the trend.

“Outsourcing of non-essential operations became necessary as the cost of running them in Nigeria is now very high in comparison to the level of income generated.

“So in order for an operator to remain in business, cost efficiencies need to be included and hence it is the prudent decision by their management to consider all options to ensure their business remains viable and sustained.”

The senate committee on telecommunications had said that the relocation could have grave implications on national security and lead to “indiscriminate sack of competent Nigerian employees at the expense of their foreign counterparts.”