Lagos — The executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, on Monday in Lagos advised subscribers to dump non-performing telephone networks even as he threatened to bring them to book.

The industry regulatory helmsman who was at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos Chapter, press forum however raised the hope of Nigerian subscribers when he assured that two years from now, the country will be self-sufficient in the area of fibre optic backbone.

Said he: "two years from now, Nigeria will be self sufficient in the area of fibre optic infrastructure on the highway criss-crossing the whole country. We need to take SAT3 to the hinter land."

Ndukwe said that what the country needs in 2008 is internet and broadband infrastructure, just he disclosed that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) was set up to assist in the execution of rural telephony, including remote and underserved parts of the country.

He tongue-lashed NITEL for not living up to expectation as it could only provide 25,000 analogue lines which Ndukwe said was not enough by such establishment.

He said since 2001, what NCC thought of was to de-emphasise monopoly and encourage liberalisation of the Telecom sector by opening window of opportunity to as many players as possible which has now led to the emergence of new entrants like Visafone, EMTS thereby raising the total investment in the sector from less than $50 million to billions of dollars.

He re-iterated that subscribers must not remain or stay with an operator that will not give them correct service even as he enjoined them to hold operators responsible anytime there is poor quality of service.

In an answer to a question, the EVC noted that NCC recently directed CELTEL and MTN to pay compensation to subscribers for failing to render quality services to them.

Ndukwe disclosed that instead of the operators to obey the order, they went to court to seek redress but lost, adding that they have again headed for the appeal court which he said will come up in no distant time.

The EVC while reeling out a litany of achievements of NCC since inception said there is need to celebrate the success of the regulatory agency.

He observed that Nigeria started late in the area of telephone on a wireless noted even as he quickly said that wireless telephone is not as reliable as fixed telephone.

On staff poaching which has become the order of the day among telecom operators, the EVC said that there is acute shortage of skilled staff and engineers. For this reason, he said the Digital Bridge Institute, DBI in Abuja including two other locations in Lagos and Kano will henceforth train professionals in the area of ICT to cater for the dearth in Telecom staffing.

Finally, he advised operators to brace up by improving the quality of their services while further reminding the subscribers of the need to shop right.