To start a telecommunication business in Nigeria is a good thing but it is capital intensive and involves some critical steps.

Step 1: Do Your Research

In your survey, you determine how much capital you have to invest in the business. You also have to think of how to get facilities to fund the expensive projects you will embark on.

Furthermore, you will think of your area, state, region, and even countries your network can cover. Consider also if your network can integrate other services like Internet service provision, mobile money and other services telecommunication companies provide.

Like I noted earlier, this business involves investing a lot of money in it to deploy necessary technology like Fiber Optic Cables, masts, etc.

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You also have to think of how to get into the market and compete with multinational telecom companies like MTN and Etisalat, and how to make a mark on the market. Major factors that make telecommunication network preferable to others are quality of service, cheap call rates and wide coverage.

Furthermore, if one chooses to get into recharge cards printing, it involves less capital. In this case, he has to check if he has to create the demand or if the demand is already there in the area where he intends to start the business. No matter the magnitude of telecom business one wants to start, he must ask himself and answer these questions:

How do I source my capital? Will it be possible to get loans from banks, friends, family members or a combination of all to start up my business?
Who will be my partners?Whether large or small scale telecom business, partners must be considered because they are important in this line of business, and they can be distributors and marketers of the products. Who will assemble and manage the mast for me?
Who is my target market? Do I have to create the demand for my new product or is there already created demand? Who and who will buy my products?
Registration procedure. How do I register my business to give it a legal backing?
Attempts should be made to successfully answer these questions before the next step is taken if one wants to start a telecommunication business in Nigeria.

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Step 2: Acquire buildings, facilities and start installations

Like I said earlier, this business is capital intensive especially when one is coming in to compete with the big names in the industry.

It is important to acquire state-of-the-art telecommunication equipment/facilities because they will offer your intended customers better services. Acquiring facilities and installation entail deploying masts, coaxial cables, radio wave, Fiber Optic Cables, standby generators at base stations, computers, mobile phones, VSAT, and so on.

These are needed to run a big telecom business like MTN and glo. But to do a simpler business, like recharge card printing business, one has to buy computer or laptop, printer, and airtime codes decryption software, etc.

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This is one of the major steps one has to take in order to start a telecommunication business in Nigeria, be it big or small. Remember, the acquired building serves as the office. The next port of call is CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission).

Step 3: Register the business at Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)

At CAC, you will be given a business name search form (Form008) which is used to search for available business names. This form is sold at N5,000 only. Name search normally takes about one week after which you are expected to come back to check the status of the registration.

If it is available then you have to proceed. The next procedure is to collect a form called Registration of Business Form.

You are expected to pay N 10,000 for companies with shareholder base for every N 1M. After this get an affidavit form from them and go to any magistrate court.

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You are expected to pay about N250 at the court. After this, the communication business is registered, the name is ready and this is the final step for one to take if he/she wants to start a telecommunication business in Nigeria. You can go further to incorporate it (if need be).

Step 4: Employ people

People to be employed are engineers, marketers, distributors, customer representatives and others for a large scale telecom business.

But for a small scale telecomm business like recharge card printing, a few persons like a marketer and a distributor may just be employed to help in the distribution and sales of the cards in the event where the business owner feels there is need to get workers to assist him/her.

Summarily, people should learn how to start a telecommunication in Nigeria because telecommunication business since full entry into Nigeria in 2001 has created over thousands new jobs, made connection to the Internet faster; it made communication cheap, fun and convenient; and it is a very lucrative business (regardless of the scale).

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Though the sector is deregulated, Nigerian government should formulate necessary favourable policies to aid their smooth operations as well as provide them with adequate amenities like steady electricity so as to reduce their operational costs.