Dead CDMA Telephone Lines Litter Nigeria-NCC

The once active Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) subsector of the telecoms industry has been declared as a ‘crowd graveyard’ that litter the country, going by the latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). According to the telecoms industry regulator, CDMA lines dropped from a whopping figure of 2,187,845 to 2,108,960 between the period of December 2014 and January 2015, while its GSM counterpart recorded a total of 139 million active lines up from 137 million in December 2014. Both GSM and CDMA current active lines stood at a little above 141 million lines in January up from the 140 million recorded in December 2014. CDMAs have continued to perform poorly due to a number of reasons including the local financiers’ refusal to lend to CDMA operators because of their repulsive financial record. Further investigations revealed that some CDMA operators had over the years regularly and consciously ignored sustained and systematic red flags as their promoters and managers diverted funds meant for expansion into frivolous projects like manufacturing, oil and gas, politics and so on. The deaths of CDMAs were also quickened by corporate mismanagement because of the fraudulent and self-serving practices of some members of board and management and the overbearing influence of Chairmen or Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of CDMAs.