The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • NCC to telcos: brace for Yuletide traffic

    NCC to telcos: brace for Yuletide traffic

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged telcos to prepare their net-works for anticipated traffic in voice, data and text messages during theYuletide. It warned that service degradation during and after the celebrations will not be in the best interest of the business.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, said telcos already knew the dynamics of seasonal traffic and should brace for this in the coming days as people will either make voice calls, send text messages or use huge data to share the joy of the seasons with their loved ones.

    Represented at the grand finale of this year’s edition of NCC-sponsored Ikoyi Club Lawn Tennis tournament by Mr Jerry Ugwu, an assistant director at NCC Secretariat, Danbatta said though the telcos  operate under a challenging environment, it is the duty of the regulator to balance their interest with that of the consumers, the government and other stakeholders in the telecoms industry ecosystem.

    He said: “Operators should be prepared at all times. They know the dynamics of the market; the demand flow; they know the period when traffic is higher, so they should be prepared to meet that because it will also bring business to them. The operators are never happy when there is poor service quality, but there are constraints that the operators are also grappling with.

    “So, the Commission’s message to the operators is that they should prime their network to be able to deal with any situation and every situation that might arise. Even with that, we know there will be complaints here and there but we expect that during this period, traffic might migrate from urban to rural areas. So they should prepare themselves to deal with any challenge.

    “The NCC is there to balance the interest of everybody-the operators, consumers, the government and everybody.”

    According to him, subscribers too have roles to play in their choice of devices. He said studies have shown that there is a direct relationship with end users’ experience on the network with the quality of their mobile devices, arguing that unapproved low standard devices do not give the subscribers the value for their money.

    “Subscribers also have a role to play in the issue of QoS cos the way and manner telephones are used also contribute. Even the quality of the mobile devices used could equally contribute to the deterioration of QoS. We are encouraging people to patronise NCC type-approved devices; we know that sometimes, unapproved devices come into the market. We try to track them but the Commission as a regulator cannot be everywhere. We encourage people, who bring equipment to come to the Commission and get type-approval so that if we look at the device that you brought in, we will see if it fits into the network of Nigeria because if it does not, it could pose a challenge,” he said.

    On the roles of sister agencies such as the Standards Organisation Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in addressing the influx of substandard devices into the country, he said NCC deploys the collaborative approach since it cannot regulate them.

    He said: “We have a collaborative partnership, we do not regulate SON neither do we regulate other government agencies, but we try to educate them, for instance, if the sea ports or entry points are policed effectively, it will reduce this because we know that some of those things that do not meet quality standard come in through the grey market (unofficially).

  • Ericsson: Artificial intelligence to make inroad

    Consumers expect artificial intelligence (AI) to move from assistants to managers while virtual reality will be indistinguishable from physical in only three years, Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Johan Jemdahl has said.

    Speaking during the presentation of Ericsson Consumer Lab report in Lagos, he said the firm has discovered what it termed 10 hot consumer trends for 2017 and beyond.

    According to the technology firm, AI is an important theme this year and consumers see it playing a much more prominent role than before – both in the society and at work. In fact, 35 per cent of advanced internet users want an AI advisor at work, and one in four would like an AI as their manager.  At the same time, almost half are concerned that AI robots will soon make a lot of people to lose their jobs.

    Consumers are increasingly using automated applications, encouraging internet of things (IoT) adoption. Two in five believe smartphones will learn their habits and perform activities on their behalf automatically while car drivers may not exist in the future. One in four pedestrians would feel safer crossing a street if all cars were autonomous, and 65 per cent of them would prefer to have an autonomous car. It warned that as autonomous cars become a reality, car sickness issues will increase, and three in 10 foresee needing sickness pills. One in three also wants motion sickness pills for use with virtual and augmented reality technology.

    Almost four out of five virtual reality (VR) users believe it will be indistinguishable from reality in only three years. Half of the respondents were already interested in gloves or shoes that allow you to interact with virtual objects.

    “The smart device safety paradox: more than half already use emergency alarms, tracking or notifications on their smartphones. Of those who say their smartphone makes them feel safer, three in five say they take more risks because they rely on their phone.

    “Social silos: today, people willingly turn their social networks into silos. One in three says social networks are their main source of news. And more than one in four value their contacts’ opinions more than politicians’ viewpoints.

    “Augmented personal reality: over half of the people would like to use augmented reality glasses to illuminate dark surroundings and highlight dangers. More than one in three would also like to edit out disturbing elements around them,” Jemdahl said.

    According to Ericsson, two in five advanced internet users want to use only encrypted services, but people are divided. Almost half would like to have just reasonably good privacy across all services, and more than one out of three believes privacy no longer exists while more than two out of five advanced internet users would like to get all their products from the biggest five IT companies. Of those, three in four believe this will happen only five years from now.

    Reflecting on the rise of virtual reality, Michael Björn, Head of Research, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said: “Beyond real time, I believe we should be talking about reality time. In fact, what we call reality becomes ever more personal and subjective. Consumers not only surround themselves with the like-minded on social networks, but also are also starting to customise the way they experience the world with augmented and virtual reality technologies.

  • ‘Satellite imagery can improve govt, business’

    Satellite imagery and its remote sensing abilities can enable government and businesses make better decisions, and be more effective in their operations, Polaris Digitech, has said.

    The firm said this during the Discovery Day Lagos Workshop at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The forum was organised by Polaris Digitech Ltd-  premier geospatial business solutions company, in conjunction with Digital Globe, the world’s leading provider of high –resolution earth imagery, data and analysis.

    Unveiling the manifold applications of satellite imagery was the focus of the event, and speakers highlighted its uses for non-security and defence related purposes in sectors like mining, agriculture, telecoms, shipping, aircraft operations and insurance. The need for businesses to know about the technology, and understand how their environment can impact their operations, becoming a deciding factor between profit and loss also informed the need for the workshop.

    Some uses of the 30 cm high resolution imagery are  to monitor construction and industrial projects so that issues can be discovered before they become problems, and corrective action quickly taken to prevent disasters. To track, quantify, and evaluate population density; document and validate land records, even as it could detect new buildings and shapes, was only a tip off the iceberg of the multifarious uses of satellite imagery.

    It can also help resolve the on-going farmer/herdsmen challenges in the country as it can track the grazing routes for monitoring both parties.

    The multi-spectral imaging capabilities of Digital Globe satellites are invaluable in precision agriculture to secure food supply for a growing population. With these images, change detection in crop status can be done so the agricultural value chain is better protected  as the farmer knows whether the crops are healthy and thriving, and if not, why and what to do.

  • Sellers, others reminisce on Jumia Black Friday

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged telcos to prepare their net-works for anticipated traffic in voice, data and text messages during theYuletide. It warned that service degradation during and after the celebrations will not be in the best interest of the business.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, said telcos already knew the dynamics of seasonal traffic and should brace for this in the coming days as people will either make voice calls, send text messages or use huge data to share the joy of the seasons with their loved ones.

    Represented at the grand finale of this year’s edition of NCC-sponsored Ikoyi Club Lawn Tennis tournament by Mr Jerry Ugwu, an assistant director at NCC Secretariat, Danbatta said though the telcos  operate under a challenging environment, it is the duty of the regulator to balance their interest with that of the consumers, the government and other stakeholders in the telecoms industry ecosystem.

    He said: “Operators should be prepared at all times. They know the dynamics of the market; the demand flow; they know the period when traffic is higher, so they should be prepared to meet that because it will also bring business to them. The operators are never happy when there is poor service quality, but there are constraints that the operators are also grappling with.

    “So, the Commission’s message to the operators is that they should prime their network to be able to deal with any situation and every situation that might arise. Even with that, we know there will be complaints here and there but we expect that during this period, traffic might migrate from urban to rural areas. So they should prepare themselves to deal with any challenge.

    “The NCC is there to balance the interest of everybody-the operators, consumers, the government and everybody.”

    According to him, subscribers too have roles to play in their choice of devices. He said studies have shown that there is a direct relationship with end users’ experience on the network with the quality of their mobile devices, arguing that unapproved low standard devices do not give the subscribers the value for their money.

    “Subscribers also have a role to play in the issue of QoS cos the way and manner telephones are used also contribute. Even the quality of the mobile devices used could equally contribute to the deterioration of QoS. We are encouraging people to patronise NCC type-approved devices; we know that sometimes, unapproved devices come into the market. We try to track them but the Commission as a regulator cannot be everywhere. We encourage people, who bring equipment to come to the Commission and get type-approval so that if we look at the device that you brought in, we will see if it fits into the network of Nigeria because if it does not, it could pose a challenge,” he said.

    On the roles of sister agencies such as the Standards Organisation Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in addressing the influx of substandard devices into the country, he said NCC deploys the collaborative approach since it cannot regulate them.

    He said: “We have a collaborative partnership, we do not regulate SON neither do we regulate other government agencies, but we try to educate them, for instance, if the sea ports or entry points are policed effectively, it will reduce this because we know that some of those things that do not meet quality standard come in through the grey market (unofficially).

  • Hauwei, Immigration partner on ICT

    Hauwei Technology Nigeria Limited in conjunction with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has commenced a nation-wide training programme for about 500 senior Immigration Officers.

    According to the firm’s Managing Director, Mr Tank Liteng, the ICT-based training programme, which kicked off at Hauwei Trainning Centre in Abuja, was organised for Immigration personnel as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    He said for five days, 50 officers would be trained in software development, cyber security techniques, and web design, among others, noting that officers would undergo the programme in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Minna, Owerri, Benin City and Makurdi.

    Mr Liteng also said Hauwei recently reached an understanding with the government to provide training for 2000 youths in ICT related fields, adding that 10 senior government officials were sponsored abroad for training in ICT by the company this year.

    While declaring the program-med open, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muham-med Babandede, said the service generated about N31 billion as revenue into the coffers of the Federal Government this year.

    The amount, he said, was about N6billion higher than the previous year, adding that Nigerians should be prepared to pay more for International Passports very soon as the current cost of obtaining the document was not sustainable.

  • Regulator, operators bicker over data tariff ‘hike’

    Regulator, operators bicker over data tariff ‘hike’

    About two weeks ago, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) suspended the re-introduced interim price floor for data services and asked telcos to revert to the old price floor until the conclusion of a study to determine retail prices for broadband and data services. LUCAS AJANAKU writes that the decision has continued to elicit reactions from the industry.

    Ordinarily, the telcos could have implemented the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ‘hike’ data tariffs without the subscribers realising this early. They could also have linked the action later to regulatory interventions, but they chose the honourable path to inform their customers about the impending hike.

    And so, like a red rag to a bull, there was widespread condemnation of the action which was said to be in their best interest. The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, in statement announcing the suspension of the controversial data floor directive, said the suspension became necessary, following the general complaints by consumers across the country, who perceived that the interim price floor would lead to hike in the cost of data services across networks. He said the decision to suspend the directive was taken after due consultation with industry stakeholders.

    The regulator’s action has continued to elicit reactions from operators, who felt aggrieved that the reversal to the old floor price for data services, would continue to eat deep into their revenue, a situation, they said, could affect the quality of data services across networks, since operators were running at a loss on the old rate.

     

    How it started

     

    NCC had on November 1 written the mobile network operators (MNOs) on the determination of an interim price floor for data services, after a stakeholder’s consultative meeting of October 19. As at November 1, the industry average for data tariff floor for dominant operators including, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, EMTS Limited (Etisalat) and Airtel Nigeria Limited was N0.53k/MB, but the interim price floor as introduced by NCC, which was to commence from December 1, sought to increase the industry average for data tariff from 53k/MB to 90k/MB.

    Statistics of the old rate showed that Etisalat offered (N0.94k/MB), Airtel (N0.52k/MB), MTN (N0.45k/MB) and Globacom (N0.21k/MB). It was based on these rates that NCC initially came up with an average data tariff of 53k/MB for dominant operators.

    Smaller operators/new entrants such as Smile Communications, Spectranet, and ntel, however charged different rates. Smile Communications charged N0.84k/MB, Spectranet charged N0.58k/MB and ntel charged N0.72k/MB.

    Considering the initial rate of 45k/MB, which MTN charged and the new rate of N90k/MB as contained in the interim floor price for data services, which was supposed to take effect from December 1, MTN, informed its over 61 million subscribers that it would increase data tariff with effect from December 1, as approved by the NCC. The information to MTN subscribers which through text message, raised a lot of dust among subscribers across networks, who started calling on NCC and the operators to rescind the decision of data tariff hike.

    Following the complaints from subscribers, NCC decided to suspend  further action in that direction.

     

    What is price floor?

     

    Price floor is one of the regulatory safeguards normally put in place by the telecoms regulator to check anticompetitive practices particularly by the dominant operators. It is therefore a minimum price on a good, commodity, service and others as stipulated by government or the regulator.

    Without a price floor, the dominant operators can engage in predatory pricing to squeeze other operators which could create industry monopoly.

     

    Why price floor?

     

    According to Ojobo, the introduction of price floor for data services in the country was to address market distortions, unhealthy price wars and value erosion that could threaten the concern of the service providers.

    “There is a gradual paradigm shift from voice telephony services to data and digital services. In line with the global trend to drive the vision of Internet of Things (IoT), the network service providers in the country embarked on aggressive promotional campaigns. As a result, all market players followed one another in introducing daily packages and engaged in serious price war. Some operators were actually pricing below cost and this will affect the ability to continue in operational existence if the issues were not addressed urgently,” Ojobo said.

    According to him, it became clear that NCC needed to act quickly to ensure the integrity of the network and availability of service to Nigerians, hence it introduced price floor for data, in order to address the situation.

     

    Price floor introduction,

    removal

     

    In 2014, NCC first introduced floor price for data services in the telecoms market, but later removed it last year for obvious reasons. Two years ago, a benchmark study was conducted and a price floor of N3.11/MB was set for data services for the big operators, because the data market segment became very aggressive in price competition, thus posing risks of prices falling below costs, which could negatively impact sustainability in the industry.

    According to Ojobo, NCC had to introduce data tariff floor that year in order to safeguard investment in the industry; check and control anticompetitive practices by operators who were dominant in the upstream market; prevent further value erosion in the industry; create a level playing field for all operators and to maintain the integrity of the network.

    However, in October last year, NCC took a decision to lift the price floor for data services, having perceived that it would stifle pervasive broadband deployment, adoption and usage, in the country.

    This decision according to Ojobo, also took into cognisance, the complaints by the telcos to waive the price floor for data service to enable roll-out of infrastructure and growth of the data market segment. He, however, said that NCC clearly stated that it would restore the price floor if any distortion is witnessed within the market segment.

    In October this year, the regulator re-introduced price floor for data services, in line with its mandate of promoting fair competition in the telecom industry.

     

    Arriving at price floor

     

    Giving reasons for the re-introduction, of an interim price floor for data services, Ojobo said NCC later discovered that some service providers were actually pricing their services below cost, a situation that could spell doom for the industry.

    He said dominant operators in the wholesale leased line market, who also operate in the retail market embarked on massive predatory pricing, a conduct capable of substantially lessening competition.

    Ojobo said the dominant operators took undue advantage of the removal of floor price to erode value in the market, hence its intervention, to safeguard investment and ensure growth, development and sustainability of the telecoms industry.

    But before the re-introduction of an interim price floor for data services, NCC sent letters to service providers requesting for their comments and inputs regarding the rate to be fixed as interim floor price for data services pending the finalisation of the study on the determination of cost based pricing for retail broadband and data services in Nigeria.

    NCC however, maintained that there should be no price floor for small operators and new entrants.

    Based on the comments and inputs received from operators and in line with the commission’s principle of participatory regulation, NCC invited and held stakeholders’ meeting with service providers in October 2016, to share the industry anti-competitive practices witnessed in the data market segment and to get their comments and inputs on what the price floor should be.

    Based on the comments from the service providers, NCC observed the need to create a balance by ensuring that the interim price floor is not too low in order to provide a cushion for small operators and new entrant to offer competitive products. NCC also noted that the price floor should not be too high to ensure affordability by consumers, and that rate should be fixed at a level that will encourage growth, roll-out services and ultimately attract investments into the telecoms sector.

    Subsequently, the commission fixed an interim price floor of N0.90k/MB for big operators. NCC however said the rate would subsist pending the finalisation of the study on the determination of cost based pricing for retail broadband and data services in Nigeria.

    In order to promote a level playing field for all operators in the industry, encourage small operators and to enable new entrant to acquire market share and operate profitably, NCC gave a standing order that all small operators and new entrants should be exempted from the interim price floor for data services.

    But unknown to NCC, subscribers strongly detested the introduction of interim price floor because they perceived it would increase cost of data services, especially now that the country is facing economic recession. Subscribers had to protest immediately MTN announced the plan to hike data tariff, based on the introduction of the interim price floor for data services by the NCC. The complaints also got to the National Assembly members who summoned the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta and the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, for questioning.

     

    Why operators kicked

     

    Following the action of NCC to suspend the interim price floor, telecoms operators, under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), condemned in strong terms, the decision of NCC to suspend the interim price floor, which seeks to increase data tariff. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo and its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Damian Udeh, ALTON said that price changes for data services across all networks following any intervention by the NCC are not expected to have a detrimental effect on broadband penetration contrary to some sentiments being expressed in the media. “ALTON wishes to emphasise that while it is imperative that telecoms operators continue to explore opportunities to provide their subscribers with more value for their money, it is important that prices be set at realistic levels which ensure that subscribers are not only able to afford services but that operators are also in a position to provide first-rate quality of service to their subscribers,” Adebayo said.

    According to him, while ALTON fully understood the public sentiments that greeted the announcement of the introduction of interim data tariff, it should be known that if the situation is left unaddressed, it could result in a sustained deterioration in the quality of data services across networks and the attendant poor quality of experience for users.

    Now that NCC has given reasons why it introduced price floor for data services, it will be nice if the NCC also considers the business sustainability of operators in determining prices, as operators await the conclusion of NCC’s market study on price floor for data services.

     

  • ‘Why Netflix, DStv show old films’

    As video-on-demand (VoD) goes mainstream, consumers are complaining that movies on streaming services are old.

    Head of Operations, Discover Digital, Taryn Uhlmann, said: “VOD services are coming to market as a digital, more convenient version of the physical video stores of the past.”

    Discover Digital is a digital entertainment and VoD services company. It is also the upstream provider for MTN’s streaming video platform VU. Discover Digital is one of only a few digital media companies in the world that offers total end-to-end solutions for the delivery of digital video content through Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Over-the-Top (OTT) television services and off-line kiosks delivery solutions, with a full content sourcing, scheduling and administration service.

    According to mybroadband, since VoD services can be seen as digital video stores, this means that each one will be subject to rights restrictions.

    They will be forced to wait for a specific length of time before they may release new programming, said Uhlmann.

    “A movie, for example, will usually be released to theatres first then it becomes available for purchase online known as Electronic Sell Through (EST), followed by DVD retail, rentals, and Transactional Video on Demand (TVoD).”

    A TVoD service most closely resembles physical video rental stores. Examples include iTunes, Google Play Movies, and DStv BoxOffice.

    After the retail and rental window, a movie then goes to the first and second pay-rights holders, such as pay-TV or subscription VoD.

    Uhlmann said movies usually go to pay TV first in South Africa.

    This is followed by the second pay-rights window, where free-to-air and SVOD services get the movie, adding that it is a standard global windowing.

    It should be noted that there may be exceptions when original content is involved. Services such as Netflix and Amazon produce their own films which they then

  • N20b interconnect, VAS debts: ‘NCC not debt collector’

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has told its licencees for interconnect clearing house and Value Added Services (VAS) to look elsewhere to resolve the issue of the huge debts crippling the subsector. The regulator said ‘it is not a debt collector’ and could not be dragged into collecting the debts for them.

    Its official, Helen Obi who particpated in a panel discussion on the Impacts of Interconnect and VAS Debts on the Nigerian Telecoms Industry at the Telecom Executives and Regulator Forum 2016 at Oriental Hotel, Victoria, Island, Lagos, said the huge debts running into some N20billion was worrisome to the regulator. She insisted that aggrieved players should report to the NCC so that it could intervene.

    The players who were rooting for a new policy framework to address the issue were told by Mrs Obi that the regulator does not make policies by ‘fiat’, but through stakeholders consultations.

    In his key note address, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Garba Danbatta, said the Com-mission’s approach to interconnect and VAS debts in the telecom industry is persuasive, adding that the regulator is not interested in micro-managing financial relationships between, and among service providers, that have been substantially protected by subsisting commercial agreements.

    “Interconnect debts have not been really a big issue in the industry except in cases of disputes; but there have been cases of interconnect fees disputes between service providers. In such cases, the regulator has intervened. In the past one year, such intervention has resulted in payments of about N10.5 billion from about reported N17 billion disputed interconnect debts. Agreements have also been reached for the settlement of outstanding debts.

    “On the VAS segment, we believe that the absence of detailed regulation with appropriate market segmentation is responsible for interconnect disputes. We have received reports, especially from the VAS providers, of alleged exploitation by the big operators. On the other hand, the service providers have complained about the parasitic nature of this service.  There is also a fusion of roles between the identified market segments, resulting in distortions in the market,” he said.

    According to the EVC, the Commission has conducted a consultative process and is about concluding arrangements for introduction of a regulation to guide the activities of the VAS market, stressing that it will substantially address the issues arising from VAS interconnect debt.

    On funding telecom investments in the country, he said the telecom market thrives on private sector investment. “For about 20 years from 1990 to 2001, the industry could only record some paltry $60 million private sector investments. The partial deregulation of the industry with Decree 72 of 1992 did not change this investment climate. However, the digital mobile licensing process of 2001, and the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003, which grew the investor confidence has resulted in the attraction of sector investment from 2001 to 2016, to about $68billion,” he added.

    According to Danbatta, this is huge, but it is by no means adequate for one of the fastest growing telecoms market in the world. He said the capital intensity of the industry, the need for service providers to increase their infrastructure deployment to satisfy the ever-increasing demand, creates room for double the size of this investment in the next 10 years.

    He said: “We have about 40 million Nigerians yet to be reached with basic infrastructure and services; our roadmap for broadband has created new frontiers for investment. The quest for data and social media enables services, as well as the increasing value added, to create new frontiers for investments. Therefore, the desire for investment in the sector will continue to grow as the size of the network increases.”

  • ‘NIPOST ‘ll drive Nigeria’s digital economy’

    ‘NIPOST ‘ll drive Nigeria’s digital economy’

    The Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) appears to have gone into irrelevance, with the rise and acceptability of the internet. But the new Post Master-General and CEO, NIPOST, Asiwaju Bisi Adegbuyi, says the percentage email has taken from the post is insignificant. He says NIPOST will leverage on its wider reach to promote digital economy, create jobs and grow contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). LUCAS AJANAKU met him in Lagos.

    You are coming from the private sector and you have spent about three or four months as NIPOST’s CEO, what are your impressions?

    It’s a story of the good, the bad and the ugly. NIPOST is a microcosm of Nigeria; you would see signs that would get you excited and say yes we are going to make progress, you would also see signs of dilapidated infrastructure, low staff morale, people that have not been trained but are   ready to be trained or otherwise, they will be left behind because what is going to happen to NIPOST is what we call breeze-way. And it is blowing. You better join the train and be part of the new system. We are going to train our people and re-train them. The first thing I did when I came onboard was to begin visitation to territories and see things for myself. I have been to places and I haven’t completed the tour yet. But what I have seen is a mixed bag. We have properties scattered all over Nigeria that we can use, but don’t blame the people that have been there before from the system. When you are within a system, you only look at how to strike a balance and make ends meet. Somebody from the private sector would look beyond that; he would do strategic thinking, do public private partnership (PPP) and bring in people from the private sector. They are already coming in torrents because I am one of them. And again, you need to do legislative reforms, amend your laws by virtue of the fact that I am one of them and they know where I am coming from and they are ready to support me. These are the things that have been difficult in the past that would not be difficult for us to do. I can make this public, the World Bank in conjunction with Nigeria, had contracted the  services of a Dutch consultant in the last five to eight years. And the reports have not been implemented. These are the things that I would do by virtue of my training as a lawyer to reposition NIPOST into a business making organisation.

    The emergence of email is said to have killed the relevance of NIPOST, do you agree with this?

    No, I do not agrre with that. The emergence of email will not kill the post offices. Emails have taken 20 per cent away from us and they have given us 50 per cent. Mails will decline but packages and parcels are growing exponentially; the e-commerce ecosystem is such that we need to deploy technology, back-end payment solutions and all of that, merchant aggregations, these are people that we are bringing on-board, proposals have been sent and we are under studying them.

    There is a push for made-in-Nigeria products. How well has NIPOST done in this area in terms of quality?

    Again that is why we are saying technology is a tool to reposition Nigeria; and even the workshop. if you think that we are going to be romantically and patriotically talking about made-in-Nigeria goods, we will be deceiving ourselves, because an average consumer is faced with choices and if what you are offering is inferior or uncompetitive, he/she is going to search for where to find value for his/her money. Don’t let us be esoteric about this made-in-Nigeria goods advocacy. We have to look at the fundamentals. What are the fundamentals? How cost effective are you?   What kind of technology are you doing? If for instance you are supposed to patronise NIPOST for logistics and delivery so that your cost can come down, were you going to do it yourself? People doing that with NIPOST would be far and ahead of you and therefore you are out of the business. And that is why it is important that what we have, we must leverage on it- the reach and the network. We are not going to rely only on mails. Logistics, warehousing, real estate, these are my areas of competences. This will include financial services and financial inclusion, it’s a whole lot of value chain. But as I have said, this is the first time we are going to get the Nigerian people to get used to what we are doing in NIPOST. So that huge market, the energetic, brilliant entrepreneurially driven Nigerian youth would be found useful for NIPOST and the money they are making would be part of the money we also going to make from them. Look at the process service industry in the world today. Look at its success in Kenya and what’s the population of Kenya? It simply means that if we get 60million Nigerian youths to patronise NIPOST, you offer them value, you give them what they really need to advance their businesses and services, we would make more money than people can ever imagine. This requires strategic thinking. It requires somebody from the private sector who has passion, who has clarity of thought on how to go about all these things. We are also going to look at the legislative framework. Let us not deceive ourselves, if we want to compete with our major competitors out there, if we want to be of the global best practices, then we must do away with the bureaucracy that we are confronted with. However, as I have said in other places, it is going to be the interaction, what is called the dialectical process of the forces of prices that are meeting to produce synthesis to the state of equilibrium.

    How are you going to convince government and the MDAs to patronise NIPOST?

    Government is already convinced by bringing for the very first time a Postmaster General from the private sector. It has seen the need for NIPOST to be run as a business enterprise. So you don’t need to convince government because it has been convinced. A government that is faced with dwindling oil revenue, a government that wants to tackle all avenues of making money would have to look at NIPOST which is like a goldmine. However, there are obstacles we must clear off the way. Depending on where you are coming from, some people will see challenges and some will see obstacles and while others will see the unbelievable opportunities that are behind the formidable  obstacles and challenges. And that is the kind of person I am. I am strategic about it. We have collaborations with all critical stakeholders- the executive and the legislature. It’s going to be a kind of symbiotic relationship. Legislators are elected to serve the people. If NIPOST is taking this position, we can generate huge employment. When you generate huge employment, you generate huge money, the entrepreneurs are enhanced, they are given the opportunity to reduce their cost, the economy would move and the value chain is very long. Economic recession as we should all know is not a crime. Countries have experienced it in the past but what were the strategies put in place to get out of recession? These are some of the indices we are discussing to get Nigeria out of this recession using a critical national institution. Post office created America. America does not joke with their post office. The same thing when we were growing up, the first set of account we opened was with P and T in OYO.

    How many jobs can a well-positioned NIPOST create?

    I am not an economist. The truth of the matter is that there is the NIPOST of the past and the new NIPOST. We are laying a solid foundation. As you know NIPOST is a microcosm of Nigeria. The story of NIPOST is the story of Nigeria. When President Muhammadu Buhari came two years ago, (the whole system had virtually collapsed) though people have been complaining now, it is very easy to do the super structure, but the real foundation is always difficult. I have been a real estate lawyer for so many years and I know that when you are doing the foundation, nobody would see what you are doing but when you are done with the foundation and you begin to put the building blocks, you will begin to see the edifice emerge. That is the level we are now. But we are going to work with the Nigerian youths about 70 millions of them; we are going to help our people in the rural areas, farmers, artisans; teach them new methods of planting; new methods of doing things. Where can they export their goods to? They don’t know but we do because we belong to the Universal Postal Union (USPS) which has 192 member-countries. That is an international gate way for people to know where you are; for people to know where the people that will need your goods are. If you do that, the multiplier effect of that on employment will be monumental not to talk of impact on financial inclusion and financial services. We are talking about selling our stamps. I do not talk about stamp duties. We are talking about selling our stamps, affixing it, address it, you denote it manually and then we also have the capacity to deploy e-stamps. You would never imagine the number of young men and women that would become agents selling our stamps when we begin the enforcement of Section 89 of the Stamp Duties Act. We are working underground. Wait for a new NIPOST, a NIPOST that will be alive to its responsibility, a NIPOST that will be market-friendly, a NIPOST that will be customer-friendly, a NIPOST that will not rely on just brick and mortal mail movement and all of that, but a NIPOST that will go into other areas.

    What  informed the NIPOST workshop?

    THE starting point is to look at how does a nation progress. Countries that have prospered have relied heavily on small and medium scale businesses as they are supposed to be protected by technology. The essence of this workshop/seminar/ customer forum is to drive home the point that the world is moving to a transformation by deploying technology. And therefore the Workshop which is a venture of the Nigeria Postal Services is in a position to propel the technological advancement of Nigeria. The need is for us to encourage our small and medium scale businesses by giving them the necessary tools.  For instance, what does technology has to do with NIPOST Workshop? The truth of the matter is that the world is changing, our competitors who are having a free-day due to the fact that for sometime, our institution has been unable to match them would now be repositioned, re-engineered and strengthened by subscribing to global best practices. What do I mean by that? There is digitilisation and there is globalisation, all of these are anchored on the deployment of technology. So if you don’t want to be left behind. If you want to be part of the team that is chasing the money, you need to do what your competitors are doing. In fact, you need to do more than them. And that is the need of this workshop. And it wouldn’t have come at a better time when Nigeria is having challenges with the economy having relied so much on oil. Now that that era is obviously over, we need to put on our thinking cap, we need to use what God has given our people, the entrepreneurs, the young men and women out there. There is this issue that I want Nigerian to know-the demographic architecture of Nigeria consists of 65 per cent of the youths and approximately to put them at 70 million people. The 70million people we are talking about don’t know whether NIPOST exist neither do they patronise NIPOST at all. So the strategy we are going to deploy, and again for the fact that I am from the private sector, is to see how we can drive these 70million people to the POST and offer them services. There are entrepreneurs out there who are into various things. The first thing a business man/woman should do is to consider your cost. If you take the cost out of it, that would grow yourself and grow your company/profit. Now, tell me the national institution that has the reach, the network, the coverage, like NIPOST? These are some of the things that we are going to do. We are not limited to the workshop. The workshop will be the engine room, however we need to modernise what we do so that we can be competitive. If you use obsolete equipment of course it would amount to somebody who is being asked to run against Usain Bolt and is not putting on hi spike shoes.  He/sh e would be defeated. That is why it is important for us to deploy technology and then subscribe to Information Communication Technology (ICT) and then internet penetration.

  • Punish erring telcos, consumers tell NCC

    The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has urged  the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to impose punitive measures on telcos that fail to comply with its directive of Do Not Disturb (DND) code.

    The council It also pledged to support the regulator to tackle the menace of unsolicited text messages and calls in the country.

    Head, Lagos Office, Consumer Protection Council, Mr Joshua Ngadda who expressed worries over the refusal of the operators to implement the Do Not Disturb (DND) code introduced since June by the regulator, lamented that many telecoms customers in the country have been going through nightmare living with unsolicited text messages and calls, usually telemarketing during ungodly hours of the day.

    Speaking during the fourth quarterly meeting/open forum of Industry Consumer Advisory Forum in Lagos (IACF), with DND: Panacea to Unsolicited Messages as its theme, he said the CPC was pleased to learn of the DND directive for implementation by telcos across their networks, but lamented poor implementation.

    “However, months after the directive was given to the  telecoms operators by the NCC, complaints about promotional and marketing messages from third party services (bulk SMS, VAS promos and others) still persist,” he said.

    He identified lack of awareness and technical challenges as factors inhibiting the implementation of the direction.

    Nadda said: “While most Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have complied with NCC’s directive in setting up the DND facility on their networks, there exists the unwillingness or reluctance of the MNO’s to sensitise their subscribers on the availability of the facility and how to utilise same.

    “In some instances, the DND service suffered technical hitches as they failed to work as expected; in this respect, there are insinuations among consumers that the so-called technical hitches may be the MNOs ploy to deliberately frustrate consumers from making use of the DND service.”

    He urged the telcos to embark on consumer awareness and where this fails, the NCC should not hesitate to wield its big stick of enforcement.

    “Efforts should be galvanised by NCC and the MNOs to bring to the knowledge of consumers the availability of the DND service and how to use same.

    “CPC supports the imposition of punitive fines by NCC on MNOs that violate the Commission’s directive on the DND service. The council’s position, however, is that the enforcement of the DND service should be stepped up by NCC to ensure that the MNOs comply fully with the directive in the interest of consumers.

    “Promotional and marketing messages from third party services, which include bulk SMS, VAS promos, and others have become a nightmare for consumers. It behoves all MNOs to comply fully with the directives of the NCC on the DND service.

    “CPC is committed to its advocacy on this issue and will continue to stand by NCC on measures being introduced to eliminate the scourge,” he said.

    Speaking, Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Alhaji Abdulahi Maikoano, lamented that the menace of unsolicited text messages and calls have become worrisome that it has to be addressed once and for all. He accused the MNOs of taking advantage of the exceptions granted them bombard customers with unsolicited messages. He warned that the regulator will not hesitate o invoke the relevant punishment on recalcitrant telcos.