Speaking to an audience of telecom executives and stakeholders at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Rudman stressed Nigeria’s overwhelming dependence on mobile internet.

“99.98% of the total internet users in Nigeria are using mobile devices. Only 0.2% are on fixed and unfixed wire. This is from the NCC’s website. It’s official.”

That single statistic, he said, explains the nation’s weak internet backbone and poor local content delivery. 

In contrast, South Africa, with over 50% of users on fixed connections, manages to retain and circulate massive internet traffic internally. Brazil, he added, is now the second largest country by network size globally, thanks to a deliberate policy to empower over 10,000 local internet service providers. “They are able to domesticate almost 90% of internet traffic in Brazil,” he noted.

Nigeria, Rudman warned, is trailing far behind because of neglect and lack of coordinated policy efforts at both federal and state levels. “Sometimes the government might not really be keen in solving those issues, and even if the federal government wants to, the state legislations are entirely different,” he said. 

For any reform to work, he stressed the need for strong lobbying at the state level and continuous pressure from media and stakeholders.

Beyond infrastructure, Rudman also spoke on the nation’s faltering education system, blaming its collapse on entrenched interests. 

He called out policymakers for failing to understand the link between education and national development, using India and Singapore as examples of countries that invested heavily in human capital to achieve global relevance.

“India is spending a billion dollars training people. That’s why you have all these humans from all these major companies in the world from India. They are churning out 70 to 100 unicorns every year. The entire African continent has only seven. We will keep dreaming, but the government must do their responsibility.”

He spoke about institutions like the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), questioning their contribution to the telecom sector. “We have DBI, right. What is DBI doing in terms of the impact on the telecom sector? They have the financial model, the amount of land that they have in Lagos and Abuja… There is a deficit in human capital, human skills, yet they are not doing it.”

Rudman proposed the creation of a dedicated ICT Think Tank to drive training and education strategy, one that would work directly with universities and not rely on empty bureaucratic structures. But he left no doubt that the onus lies squarely on government to make the first move.

“The President of Nigeria must make deliberate attempt to solve this. It is not for ATCON to go and change advocacy. We should consistently push for government to do the right thing.”

Nigeria’s telecom sustainability cannot be built on mobile data alone, nor can its digital economy grow without radical education reform and committed leadership.

The event, themed “Impact of Adjacent Agencies on Nigerian Telecom Sector: The Way Forward,” was an in-depth conversation about the structural and regulatory issues stalling industry growth.

The President of ATCON, Tony Emoekpere, opened the meeting with a reflection on the journey so far. “Two years ago, I was entrusted with the mandate to lead this association, and I’ve done so to the best of my ability with absolute focus,” he said. 

He noted that the association has grown with at least 27 new member companies joining during his tenure, and that ATCON had engaged with over 75 strategic global and local events to defend industry interests.

However, he stressed the pressing concerns about the growing influence of non-core regulatory bodies in telecom operations. 

Emoekpere led a no-holds-barred discussion, pointing out that several agencies outside the industry were imposing levies and regulations, thereby disrupting operations.

“We have other agencies that are trying to create some form of levies, looking for ways to impose charges right away on their operations,” he said. “We don’t want to be in an environment where our investment is totally at risk, or where people don’t even want to invest in our sector.”

Participants described the actions of these adjacent agencies as intrusive and economically damaging. Multiple operators spoke about what they termed regulatory duplicity, instances where different state agencies imposed overlapping charges and policies. 

A stakeholder stated: “We already face enough ends. We don’t want to have other people taking up the responsibility.”

The need for a one-stop-shop regulatory model was a recurring recommendation. “In some states, you have the State Revenue Service, the State Infrastructure Agency, the Urban Planning Agency – all coming after you for the same reason. It is not sustainable,” another stakeholder said.

The discussion turned inward when Engineer Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO, Digital Realty (Nigeria) and former president of ATCON, noted industry indiscipline and undercutting among telecom players.

He pointed out that while some members advocate for tariff increases, others reject it, leaving the entire sector weakened. “We’re in the same industry, and they are better capitalised than us… we’re hurting ourselves,” he stated.

This disunity was seen in competition for bank contracts. “The same bank writes you and says decrease your service price, even after telling you that your cost of capital has gone up,” he added. “We don’t function as an association. We don’t function as a group. So when they harass us, we go back and start competing amongst ourselves.”

Vice President of ATCON and CEO of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, stated: “99.98% of internet users in Nigeria access it via mobile, while only 0.2% use fixed lines,” a sharp contrast to South Africa where over 50% of users are on fixed lines, enabling better in-country data traffic retention. 

“Brazil is now the second largest country with internet networks because they domesticated 90% of their traffic through strong associations.”

As tensions rose, Emoekpere reaffirmed ATCON’s focus on industry-wide cohesion. He revealed plans to set up an Industry Think Tank Committee to establish standardised guidelines for engagement with adjacent agencies.

“We must start having industry committees, think tanks to handle some of these matters, so we can now come up with a position,” he said.

Calls for a renewed code of conduct were made, and several members volunteered for roles in committees aimed at solving these regulatory and operational issues. “We must move from talk to structure,” he asserted.

The meeting also touched on education and workforce development, with members agreeing that ATCON must play a more active role in impacting the academic curriculum to meet telecom industry demands.

The group resolved to explore partnerships, virtual training models, and institutional support for under-resourced tertiary institutions.

Closing the session, Emoekpere said, “ATCON is not just an association, it is a collective commitment to action. We do make an impact, and they are actually looking forward to our contributions.”

The newly elected executives were sworn in with high expectations. The first task on their table: push back against regulatory encroachment and unify a fractured industry.