Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) said it has appointed Olusola Teniola, the current President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) as its new national coordinator for Nigeria. He is taking over from Ernest Ndukwe, who has led the coalition since its inception in 2015.
Founded by the Web Foundation in 2013, A4AI is a global coalition with a mandate to drive down the cost of internet access in low and middle-income countries through policy and regulatory reform.
The Alliance has over 80 member organisations from across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in both developed and developing countries, working through a consultative, locally-driven and locally-led process in member countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
As National Coordinator, Olusola is expected to oversee the work of the coalition in Nigeria to reduce the cost of internet access in the country. He comes with over 23 years of global ICT experience working in strategic management positions at several major telecom companies.
According to the newly appointed National Coordinator, “I look forward to amplifying the voice of coalition members on key issues impacting affordability in Nigeria through strong collaboration between government, civil society, and private sector players.”
He has contributed to the rollout of mobile and broadband services by World Telecom in Portugal (2003 – 2007) and has served in executive positions at British Telecom, Vodafone, Cisco Inc., and Alcatel-Lucent Technologies.
Sonia Jorge, executive director of A4AI said Olusola’s leadership will support the renewed vision of a digital economy for Nigeria.
Ernest Ndukwe is credited with growing the Nigerian coalition, successfully leading policy change which helped Nigeria to achieve affordable internet data costs of 1.6 percent of average monthly income.
