On Friday 29th November 2019, The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) celebrated its 20th anniversary. The event was a celebration of achievements and milestones in the telecom industry. The event which aimed to honour Industry leaders, founding leaders, and stakeholders for their support and developmental role in the industry, was declared open by the Chairman of ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo.
In his opening address, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo stated that ALTON was set up to provide solutions to common problems and promote the interests of its members in the telecom industry. He disclosed that since inception ALTON had continued to play a key role in the market development of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. He noted that 20 years after the liberalization of the telecom sector in Nigeria, the country has moved from one cellular mobile network with limited coverage and 26,500 connected lines to 4 GSM operators, 2 VoIP operators, 4 Fixed Wired operators with 172.9mn mobile subscriptions & teledensity at 123.5 percent. He added that ALTON had made critical interventions on behalf of members on several issues such as challenges of multiple taxations, multiple regulations, rates, and tariff determination, market competition and unfavorable policies.
The Chairman of the occasion, Rear Admiral Alison Madueke (rtd) acknowledged that ALTON has indeed lived up to its responsibility in championing the course of the industry to the benefit of Nigerians. He highlighted the developmental role that ALTON had played in bringing the telecoms industry in Nigeria.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo got the telecoms legend award for providing the much needed regulatory and policy environment for the development of the telecoms sector while the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) was amongst the leading organisations honored with the ALTON Sector Support Award.
Other awards presented at the event were the Industry Pioneers, Special Recognition for Industry Leaders, Industry Achievers, Industry Recognition for Resources Persons, Smart City, Regulatory Merit for Persons and Industry Merit Award.