The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Govt eyes 20% jump in ICT sector contribu!tion to GDP

    The Federal Government says it is eyeing a 20 per cent increase in he contribution of the information communication technology (ICT) sector to its economic diversification agenda.

    Minister of Communications Technology Adebayo Shittu, who spoke during the Institute of Directors’ (IoD’s) new members’ induction as Special Guest of Honour/Guest Speaker at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, said to actualise this ambitious dream, a new roadmap had been drafted with substantial input from stakeholders in the sector. The document is awaiting the blessing of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Communications Technology Ministry, Sunday Echono, at the event held at weekend, the minister said all the challenges, including multiple taxation/ regulation, right of way (RoW), alternative energy sources to power base transmission stations (BTS), and even upgrade of the legal and regulatory frameworks were being fine-tuned so as to create a congenial operating environment to attract further foreign direct investments (FDIs).

    Shittu, who lamented the existence of indigenous skills gap, quality of service, cut-throat competition, and silo approach to e-government implementation, promised that the document pending in the FEC would address some of these challenges.

    He said globally, big data, cloud and internet of things (IoTs) are three major factors dominating the table. For Nigeria to take advantage of these new trends, he said the Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to advertise spectrum sale to the remaining five infrastructure companies (Infracos) to complement existing optic fibre cables to deepen broadband penetration in line with the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    According to Shittu, business process outsourcing (BPO), which yearly contributes substantially to the GDP of a country, such as India could be developed in the country so that Nigeria could become the sub-regional hub for BPO and earn foreign exchange too.

  • ATCON to NCC: Nigeria is haven for counterfeit phones

    Nigeria has become a dumping ground for counterfeit phones from across the world, the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) at the weekend, told the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    Its President, Olushola Teniola who spoke during a special reception organised by the group for the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NCC, Prof Umar Dambatta, lamented that the rather uncontrolled influx of fake/counterfeited mobile phones into the country has added to the pains subscribers go through with end user poor quality of service (QoS).

    He lamented that unregistered/unapproved mobile phone brands currently have over 150 models circulating in the country.

    The NCC limits itself to type-approving mobile phones, while the role of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) remains unclear on the issue. The two agencies are quick to blame the menace on the number on people who import mobile phones in negligible quantities in their briefcases each time they are coming into the country.

    He said: “ATCON is interested in the continuous development of the telecoms sector but there are some issues that have constituted a threat to investment, friendly and enabling environment for our members and if these threats are not put under control, our industry might suffer decrease in investment. These monsters are dumping of counterfeit phones; implementation of National Broadband Plan; approval of draft National ICT Policy; foreign exchange squeeze viz-a-viz network roll-out; proposed nine per cent Communication Service Tax bill; and local content within ICT sector.”

    Teniola advised the NCC to step up actions to protect subscribers, protect indigenous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and guarantee a high level of QoS.

    He said: “Government should put anti-counterfeiting measures such as the facilitation of integrated web portal-based international Mobile Equipment Identity (IME) and International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) collection to stem the menace of sub-standard or unrecognised mobile phones circulating in Nigeria with the obvious consequences of poor QoS, loss of revenue to the government, loss of business by OEMs and loss of jobs as well in Nigeria mobile market. For instance we have more than 20 mobile phone brands that do not have NCC type approval certificate to operate in Nigeria. In addition, we have our 10 per cent of fake mobile phones products of some of the popular mobile phone brands in Nigeria.

    “ATCON is aware that your appointment is based on your pedigree as a thorough bred professional with sterling leadership quality, we are confident that you are equal to the task ahead. Therefore, we would like the EVC to tell us what the Commission is doing to either ameliorate or eliminate all these anti-development agents in our sector.”

    Responding, the NCC chief said the issue of QoS remained a major concern to the Commission. Dambatta said worried by the barrage of complaints that daily inundated the Commission, one of the first things he did on assumption of duty a year ago was to inaugurate a committee on QoS. He said the committee has been working round the clock, adding that the Commission has also acquired the requisite tools to monitor QoS remotely from the Commission’s office.

    He lamented that while the technical side of the challenge could be addressed through the issuance of direction, the non-technical aspects such as delayed issuance of right of way (RoW), epileptic power supply, vandalism, unprovoked shutting down of base transmission stations (BTS) and others remain intractable.

     

  • Fed Govt eyes 20% ICT sector contribution to GDP

    Fed Govt eyes 20% ICT sector contribution to GDP

    The Federal Government says it is eyeing a 20 per cent increase in the contribution of the information communication technology (ICT) sector to its economic diversification agenda.

    Minister of Communications Technology Adebayo Shittu, who spoke during the Institute of Directors’ (IoD’s) new members’ induction as Special Guest of Honour/Guest Speaker at Eko Hotel and Suites, said to actualise this ambitious dream, a new roadmap had been drafted with substantial inputs from stakeholders in the sector. The document is awaiting the blessing of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Communications Technology Ministry, Sunday Echono, at the event held at weekend, the minister said all the challenges, including multiple taxation/ regulation, right of way (RoW), alternative energy sources to power base transmission stations (BTS), and even upgrade of the legal and regulatory frameworks were being fine-tuned so as create a congenial operating environment to attract further foreign direct investments (FDIs).

    Shittu, who lamented that the existence of indigenous skills gap, quality of service, cut-throat competition, and silo approach to e-government implementation promised that the document pending in the FEC would address some of these challenges.

    He said globally, big data, cloud and internet of things (IoTs) are three major factors dominating the table. For Nigeria to take advantage of these new trends, he said the Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to advertise spectrum sale to the remaining five infrastructure companies (Infracos) to complement existing optic fibre cables to deepen broadband penetration in line with the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    According to Shittu, business process outsourcing (BPO), which yearly contributes substantially to the GDP of a country, such as India could be developed in the country so that Nigeria could become the sub-regional hub for BPO and earn foreign exchange too.

  • Vodacom: IoTs critical to business success in Nigeria

    Internet of Things (IoTs) has can transform business operations and maximise efficiency across all sectors of Nigeria’s economy, Vodacom has said.

    Executive Head of Department, IoT, Vodacom Business Africa, Tony Smallwood, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend during the NigeriaCom ICT Leaders Forum, said IoTs transforms the way businesses operate and increase returns on investment (RoI) because of the efficiency that comes with it.

    He said: “IoTs drives digital transformation, helping businesses to remain relevant in today’s digital world. Overall, 63 per cent of adopters say they have seen significant RoI from adopting IoTs.”

    Smallwood, whose keynote address was on understanding IoTs applications in strengthening digital business in Nigeria, said by 2020, more than seven billion people and businesses, and over 30 billion devices, will be connected to the internet.

    He said the question was no longer about the adoption of IoTs but rather its application to drive business success. “We have an ecosystem of partners who specialise in specific aspects of IoT integration, who have deep knowledge in their respective industries. In collaboration with our partners we are able to easily integrate an entire value chain for our customers, small or big,” Smallwood said.

    From fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), to finance, energy and utilities, manufacturing, agriculture and health, there is no industry that has not been impacted by the potential of the IoTs, he added.

    IoT solutions securely provide a view of critical systems, keeping businesses in control and reducing costs across all operations. Linking almost any type of remote machine or devices to critical information systems and collating real-time data can help to increase visibility throughout the supply chain, Smallwood said, adding that Vodacom’s IoT solutions support wireless payment devices and e-readers, energy usage and smart metering, chilling cabinets, goods and remote asset monitoring systems and community health management solutions.

  • Library council urges NITDA on local software devt

    The Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) has urged the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to work with local software developers in Nigeria to develop user-friendly mobile app for library service in the country.

    The council said technology has revolutionised the daily lives of individuals and the library service should not be an exemption where service could be delivered to users and students on any smartphone or other internet enabled devices which would make the library users stay connected to libraries service irrespective of their location.

    Its Registrar/CEO, Prof. Michael Afolabi, who spoke when he led members of his management team to NITDA on a visit, said the importance of teh agency as a very strategic stakeholder  has made it imperative to call on the Agency for exchange of views on how to fast track the ongoing collaborations between the two organisation.

    “To us NITDA is a world class intervention Agency in the ICT sector, intervening remarkably in different sector of the nation’s economy. We are glad that your organisation has emerged an international brand, exporting best practice,” he said.

    He said the council is developing standards for different categories of library and have commenced the review and set benchmark for library schools in Nigeria adding that the commission is partnering with some governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to make meaningful contribution to the education sector and library and information subsector in particular.

    He urged NITDA to finalise work on the e-library standard it formulated and set machinery in motion to commence the advocacy for the standard so that Nigeria public would understand and benefit from this policy.

    “On our part, we have gradually commenced a silent advocacy to create awareness about the availability of new standards for e-libraries in Nigeria. Our stakeholders often receive this news with excitement,” he said.

    NITDA Acting Director-General, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, assured that the agency is committed to enhancing the relationship that exists between the two organisations adding that NITDA’s mandate empowers it to intervene on other sectors and education is one of the sectors.

    “It is on this note we want to change the traditional outlook of our library to virtual library. Last week, we inaugurted one at Ekiti State University and by October another one will be inaugurated in Yola,” he said.

  • Battle for telecoms industry’s soul

    Battle for telecoms industry’s soul

    With the liberalisation of the telecoms sector over a decade ago came a floodgate of investments, both local and offshore. According to statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mobile internet subscriptions from telcos reached 92.2 million in June, this year, showing that of the 157 million active GSM lines, 61.79 per cent has internet subscriptions. Worried that these gains may be eroded by a myriad of challenges, stakeholders met in Lagos to chart a way forward, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    The importance of the telecoms sector to national development cannot be overemphasised. To underscore this, even as economic recession takes a toll on other sectors of the economy, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the telecoms sector contributed N 1.58trillion to gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year, or 9.8 per cent, which represents an increase of 1.0 per cent points relative to the previous quarter.

    NBS said this is the largest contribution to GDP made from the sector in the rebased period, which emphasised that growth in telecoms has remained robust when compared to total GDP. However, due to differing seasonal patterns, the contribution from the sector is usually the largest in the second quarter, NBS noted. But the sector continues to be threatened by factors such as multiple taxation/regulatiorn and others.

    It is against this background that stakeholders, including the NCC, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance & Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA), National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS) and the Nigeria Information Communication Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) came together in Lagos at the weekend to examine how issues militating against the development of the sector could be addressed so that it could effectively offer as an option to crude oil in government’s diversification agenda.

    Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof Umar Dambatta, said the giant strides that have been achieved in the industry was as a result of consistent regulation that has taken the interest of all the stakeholders such as the investors, government and subscribers, into consideration. He added that some sister-agencies may have exhibited overzealousness in the course of carrying out their duties.

    Represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, the EVC said overregulation ‘portends’ great danger to the survival of the telecoms sector. He added that the NCC would not regulate technology and urged the telcos to innovate to remain relevant in the face of over-the-top (OTT).

    ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said access to telecoms is access to global world, life and prosperity, adding that several studies have shown that a nation’s economic development depends on its overall progress in the information communications technology (ICT) sector, and companies that use ICT grow faster and are more productive and more profitable than those that do not.

     

    Between technology,

    service

    Adebayo said when technology is regulated, the base/bottom line is infrastructure, (that is global system for mobile communication (GSM), long term evolution (LTE) against, code division multiple access (CDMA) against Fibre and Fixed Network), adding that when services are regulated, the content and OTT service such as phone calls and text messages over the internet, Facebook, Yahoo, WhatsApp Blackberry messenger and the likes are inevitably involved.

    “While under-regulation will lead to chaos and high security risks, over-regulation will limit the use and application of dynamics of modern technology and also limit access to global trade and knowledge.  We must continue to debate these issues in order to guarantee the sustainability of our technology development,” he said.

     

    Industry regulation

    ALTON recognises that there are indeed genuine concerns over the implications of the operations of not only telecommunications operators, but also all major players in other sectors of the economy. “In demonstration of its pivotal responsibility in this regard, ALTON has given its full support to the NCC in the establishment of the Guidelines on the Technical Standards for the Installation of various Telecommunications Infrastructure, and we have given and will continue to give and make professional representation and input to several other agencies of government both at the federal and state level, and ALTON will continue to ensure the establishment of, and adherence to the highest possible standards of best practices.

    “We fully understand concerns regarding the growth of telecommunications infrastructure and their environmental footprint and have sought to address these concerns in partnership with operators and other industry bodies.

    “We however believe there is a need to balance these concerns with the need to ensure efficient service provision and counsel that the development of the appropriate regulatory framework can only be achieved through the auspices of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA). Such a framework will engender the sustainability of the environment while developing telecommunications infrastructure for the continued socio-economic growth of Nigeria through the provision of world class services to Nigerians,” he said.

    Today, regulation in the name of revenue generation is a major hindrance to the satiability of the telecom industry and a threat to its broadband penetration objections as well as the entire Vision 202020 objectives of the government, he added.

    ATCON President Olusola Teniola  lamented that although the NCC is the statutory authority charged with the regulation of telecoms services in Nigeria, today, the telecoms sector has witnessed incursions into the regulatory space by other agencies including state and local governments. Represented by Vice President, Anthony Nwosu, he said these agencies impose levies and fees on service providers for location towers, RoW, and make other laws that govern infrastructure in their domains. The acts of these agencies have sometimes led to indiscriminate shut down of base stations and operator sites, leading to disruption of services.

    General Manager, LASIMRA, Babajide Odekunle, said the government established LASIMRA in 2004 under the Laws of Lagos State No 23 Volume 37 of August 27, 2004 in order to ensure a one-stop agency for all issues regarding utility infrastructure ranging from water, gas, power and telecoms. This mandate ranges from conception, project management, development and maintenance of all such infrastructure in order to ensure orderly urban development.

    He said the agency has been a forerunner in promoting ease of doing business in Lagos State as issues of over regulation or multiplicity of taxes, levies and charges are completely eliminated. None of our 57 local government areas and local development areas is involved in cases of illegal collection of LASIMRA fees and levies.

    “Under my leadership, LASIMRA has engaged with the NCC in order to ensure that support is given to operations in the areas of infrastructural deployment and service delivery to all stakeholders. It is on record that in 12 months that I have led the agency, no BTS has been shut despite huge debts incurred by some operators in the state,” he said.

     

    Over-regulation evils

    QoS

    According to Teniola, the NCC is empowered to establish minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards in service delivery for the telecommunications industry. These QoS standards ensure that consumers continue to have access to high quality telecommunications service by setting basic minimum quality levels for all operators. The standards define the lower and upper bounds of acceptability of such technical issues as transmission rates, error rates, call completion rates, and others and commercial consumer issues such as access to customer care centres, billing integrity and other characteristics that can be measured and improved.

    There is no doubt that the incessant shut down of telecoms facilities by multiple regulatory bodies have an adverse effect on the QoS offered by operators in the industry. The outages occasioned by these shut downs negatively impact QoS indices such as reduced call completion rates, increased call drop rates, increased voice quality impairment, and transmission quality impairment. The overall implication of these is heightened consumer dissatisfaction with the QoS provided by operators.

     

    Threat to broadband plan

    The incessant over regulation of the Nigerian telecommunications sector may lead to the inability of players in that sector to roll out services promptly to meet the targets in the National Broadband Plan.

     

    Mortality of telcos

    ATCON warned that if over regulation of the industry is not checked, some of the service providers may be forced to close shop, and this would affect the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP.

    “Some telecoms service providers may be forced to relocate their services to neighbouring countries while closure of companies or reduction in scope of activities may lead to job losses and worsen the unemployment situation in the country,” the group said, adding that funds meant for the industry may also be diverted to other sectors.

     

    Multiple taxation,

    regulation

    Adebayo said multiple and/or unlawful levies, taxes and charges are increasingly imposed upon telecom operations by myriad of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government at all levels in a way to subtly regulate the industry.

    The frequent enforcement actions of these MDAs to compel payment result in extensive disruption of telecoms operations, affecting customer experience.  He lamented that operators face major challenges in securing site and RoW approvals from state governments: continuing community issues hinder development and maintenance of sites across the country among other issues.

    He said there is increasing incidence of recurrent fibre cuts on network affects signaling and transmission links across the country. Indiscriminate vandalism and sabotage of sites by some MDAs which often claim to regulate, collect levies and permits from operators but provide no further protection for such infrastructure.

    These interventions considerably increase the lead time to roll out, inflate costs of deploying infrastructure and depreciate network quality.   The interference of the MDAs has created a wide infrastructural gap that leads to the poor quality of services being experience by subscribers.

     

    Way forward

    ALTON urged continuous debate on whether technology or service should be regulated; elimination and removal of all barriers to telecom operations and development by stakeholders;  and accord telecom infrastructure as the protection of critical national socio-economic infrastructure and the s the requisite protection to the industry by ring fencing telecommunications from the influence of various MDAs.

    ATCON stressed said there is need for NCC to strengthen its relationships with each state of the federation and relevant agencies to ensure a smooth operating environment for the delivery of telecoms services.

    It also called for greater collaboration of industry associations and stakeholders to ensure a congenial operating business environment for telecoms companies operating in Nigeria.

    The group said there was need for an increased enlightenment and awareness on the importance of telecommunications services to national growth and development, adding that the Federal Government should collaborate with state and local governments on the issue of tax harmonisation.

  • How telcos compromise QoS, environment

    Telcos operating in Lagos State install fiber optic cables indiscriminately in gutters and on trees thereby, compromising quality of service (QoS), and creating environmental challenges such as flooding and even economic loss to the state government, the report of a study commissioned by the state government has shown.

    The state agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating infrastructure, the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulation Agency  (LASMIRA), had, early this year, consulted Critical Infrastructure Services Limited, to conduct a Utility Network Audit covering underground utilities network within the geographical boundaries of the state (affected persons) and ensure that all utility providers were compliant with statutory provisions with regard to all underground communication infrastructure.

    In the course of carrying out its investigations, it was discovered that  key areas such as Saka Tinubu St., Kofo Aboyimi St., Saka Tinubu/Akin Adesola St. junction., Ozumba Obamdiwe St., (junction)., Ajose Adeogun St., all on the Victoria Island, Lagos, were the worst hit by the indiscriminate installation of telecoms cables by telcos.

    Head of Compliance at Critical Infrastructure Services Ltd, Mrs. Gloria Ogunbiyi, who shed more light on the report explained that in the process of preparing the “As Built Database” of all underground facilities in the state, it was discovered that several carriers had built cables in a manner that they could even have avoided the payment of right of way (RoW) fees to the state government by installing cables in gutters and drainages.

    She advised telcos to ensure they provide quality services to customers by disconnecting the cables in gutters, drainages and trees, pay LASIMRA for RoW, install cables according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards and utilising duct space provided by the state government.

    “This is critical because it has been discovered that the poor quality of service experienced by telecoms customers is due to telecoms network cables that are installed in these gutters and on trees.

    “These installations no doubt do not comply with the global standards set by ITU. Nigeria has experienced tremendous growth in the numbers of telecom subscribers, but this has not been matched by the provision of adequate internationally accepted networks to match this growth. There are constant dropped calls and slow internet service with key network Cables in gutters, drains and on trees,” Mrs Ogunbiyi said.

    According to her, if the trend is not contained, it will also impact negatively on the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR), adding that state government, needed to provide health care, education, good roads and other dividends of democracy to residents of the state.

    She said: “While conducting the Utility Network Audit in several major streets and roads in Lagos on behalf of LASIMRA, Critical Infrastructure Services Ltd personnel saw key cables on trees and in several gutters and drains illegally installed by telecommunications operators.

    “It is amazing that at our stage of development, telcos will install cables on trees and gutters. These are short cuts, probably, to avoid the payment of RoW fees to Lagos State and no doubt are responsible for poor quality of service.

    “We should also see from the point of view that this practice by telcos does not only reduce IGR due to the state but also leads to blocked gutters and drainages caused by debris trapped by cables in these gutters and drains. These cables in gutters block the drainages and contribute to flooding in Lagos. The government has made efforts to provide cable ducts in all new roads but these operators have chosen to install their cables illegally on trees and in gutters. The economic impact of flooding is enormous to the residents of Lagos State.”

    She added that as good corporate citizens, telcos must support the state by paying the requisite fees for RoW.

    According to her, LASIMRA is focused on delivering its mandate to residents of the state and ensure that regulations are adhered to by all operators, lamenting that it had issued more than enough public notices before the exercises commenced.

    Mrs. Ogunbiyi said the final report will be submitted to LASMIRA to commence action on how to address the menace, and ensure that operators do not abuse the RoW issued them by the state government.

  • ‘Fed Govt committed to in-country data hosting’

    The Federal Government has said it is committed to ensuring that all data generated in the country by ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs) are hosted within the country as soon as the capacity to do so has been demonstrated.

    Acting Director-General, National Information Technology Development   Agency (NITDA), Dr Olatunji Vincent, who spoke in Ikeja, Lagos during his working visit to Rack Centre’s Data Centre, said the government would do all within its powers to encourage local data centres by ensuring that data generated are hosted in the country instead of being hosted offshore.

    “We will do everything within our powers to ensure that the Nigerian government policy on local hosting of government data in the country is fully implemented,” he said.

    Dr Olatunji, who was conducted round the facility by Managing Director of Rack Centre, Mr Ayotunde Coker, said it was necessary that efforts be made in conjunction with the office of the local content to support viable companies such as Rack Centre.

    “This facility surpasses every other data centre that I had visited inside and outside the country and we need to have all hands on deck to develop the ICT sector considering its impact on all the other sectors of the economy,” the NITDA chief said.

    In his comments, Mr Coker said the management of the firm was delighted by the visit of the NITDA chief and his acknowledgment of the strength of the facility.

    “We are delighted that the Acting DG acknowledges the quality of Rack Centre in comparison to other places he has visited, even in more advanced economies.  Rack Centre is the only truly carrier neutral data centre and the best connected in Africa,” Mr Coker said.

    NITDA was created in 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Policy and   to coordinate general IT development in the country and to create a framework for the planning, research, development and standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and registration of information technology, practises and systems in the country.

     

  • Telcos kick against communications service tax

    Major telecoms firms in the country have kicked against a bill seeking to introduce Communications Service Tax, arguing that such a tax will further suffocate subscribers, stall the deployment of infrastructure, frustrate the achievement of government’s National Broadband Plan, and make the government more unpopular.

    The major carriers– MTN, Airtel, Glo, Etisalat and others- acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said instead of overtaxing the already impoverished subscribers, a good place to start will be to review and cut down the cost of governance at all levels, lamenting that the sheer magnitude of the effect of the law will be unimaginable.

    “Our opinion is that the introduction and collection of the tax without the exclusion of the applicability of the Value Added Tax (VAT) (which was introduced by the Value Added Tax Act and is also applicable to services rendered by service providers in the telecoms sector) will amount to double taxation as the proposed tax is an additional tax on communication services rendered to the same end users who already pay a five percent tax as VAT.

    “Also, the administration of this tax regime as proposed will be cumbersome and impractical; we must correct this general notion that service providers can absolve any tax without considering the capital and operational cost to the service providers,” the telcos said.

    On the challenge of affordability in connecting the unconnected, the carriers said high consumer taxes on communication services would impact negatively on economic and broadband development.  “Today the country has more than 83 million unique subscribers, accounting for 45 per cent of the population. As well as providing access to financial services, education and healthcare to millions of citizens, many for the first time, telecoms has also played a critical role in reducing transportation, communication and transaction costs.  Pushing up the cost to consumers, this tax will inevitably adversely impact the adoption of broadband affordability, which is a key challenge in connecting the unconnected

    The operators say the tax will have adverse impact on telecom infrastructural development as it will negatively impacting take-up of consumer services and decline industry revenues.   The proposed tax will reduce the incentive for telecom operators to invest in the infrastructure improvements that are essential to improve and expand mobile/broadband connectivity across Nigeria; telecom industry investment in Nigeria is already constrained by multiple taxation and may not have room to contain the tax, the carriers said.

    According to the group, there are 26 different taxes and fees levied on mobile operators and consumers, including national and local taxes on revenues, businesses and business sites as well as regulatory fees such as spectrum and permits fees.

    Broadband penetration remains low at less than 10 per cent, with the government setting a target of 30per cent by 2018.  There is more ground to cover as only less than 10per cent of telecom over 160 million subscribers can access broadband.  The Nigeria Broadband market opportunity is huge in terms of distribution and penetration, the group said.

    According to statistics from the International Telecoms Union (ITU), despite the fact that Nigeria has 45 million internet users, the highest online population in Africa, only nine per cent or about 14.5 million are actually internet subscribers. Opportunity exists for over 100 million potential internet users.

    “Internet-to-Home Penetration is 4.6 per cent while broadband penetration is at a mere six per cent; with a youthful population and growing middle class, the market holds great potential.

    “According to the World Bank, in developing economies such as Nigeria, every 10 per cent increase in broadband subscriber penetration accelerates economic growth by 1.38 per cent in the long term. Increasing taxation levels could jeopardise the contribution of the industry towards economic growth and prevent the spread of broadband that would enable Nigeria to become a modern knowledge-based economy,” ALTON said, warning that the introduction of the CST law without the harmonisation of other extant laws is likely to make the government unpopular, as it will put pressure on the tax system and make it unattractive to investors and be counter-productive for targets on broadband penetration.

  • Saving IT consumers from fake products

    Saving IT consumers from fake products

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sealed off the office of Nokia. It also and insisted that Innjoo Technology Limited pay N4million fine for selling non-type-approved mobile phones. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that customers are daily being defrauded through the sale of mobile phones and other devices that have no spare parts.

    When French firm, Wiko Mobile, launched in the country about two years ago at Eko Hotel and Suites amid pomp and celebration, it came with several promises, one of which was to target 10 per cent of Nigeria’s market.

    It said when it launched in France, mobile telephony was already more than two decades old, adding that it is now one of the leading mobile phone firms in the country with substantial share of the market share.

    Wiko Mobile’s Director, International Business, Mr Marcel Van De Per, who spoke on the sideline at the launch of the firm’s range of products said from his experience, the youth segment of the market was already responding positively to the Wiko range of beautiful and affordable products.

    He said: “We are targeting at least, 10 per cent of the market share here. We have successfully launched in other parts of the continent having recorded outstanding success in Europe.

    “We have also identified Nigeria as an emerging telecoms market and one of the fast-growing in the world, and as such we are bringing our quality brand of smartphones into the Nigerian market, where data availability and lower cost of devices is driving smartphone adoption.”

    Attracted by the beauty of the mobile phones, a civil servant who simply identified herself as Esther bought one of the products. One year after, the phone developed software problem. It refused to come up. Efforts to resuscitate the phone were fruitless as several visits to Ikeja service centre produced no results. “I was told the parts were not available and should wait. I got frustrated and left the phone. It is still in my wardrobe as I speak with you,” she said.

    An email enquiry sent to Van De Per on the issue failed to elicit any response.

    Another customer, a female journalist, recalled her experience when she bought a palm top from another manufacturer in the country. She travelled abraod for an assignment and forgot the charger in her hotel room.

    When she returned to the country, she could not get a replacement. Reason: officials at the service centre in Lagos said there are no spare parts in the country. After repeated calls, she was told unequivocally that the charger cannot be sold in isolation. She resigned herself to fate and silently licked her wound.

    These are some of the issues consumers of information technology (IT) tools have been grappling with in the country.

    For mobile phones, NCC restricts itself to only type-approval, though the land and sea borders remain as porous as ever to allow the influx of all manners of equipment into the country.

    CEO, NCC, Prof Garba Dambatta said tackling service quality remained the major priority of the Commission. He has raised a team to monitor the quality of service in the telecoms sector.

    Former CEO of NCC, Ernest Ndukwe said the quality of the mobile phones used in the country was partly responsible for the challenges that have been going on in the telecoms sector.

    Last week, the Enforcement Unit of the Commission embarked on enforcement exercise that ended in the shutting of Nokia Office located at CBC Tower, Lekki, Lagos and compelling Innjoo, a Chinese mobile phone maker to pay a fine N4 million for selling handsets in the Nigerian market without obtainig the tpye-approval of the NCC.

    Analysts say the clampdown by the regulator will serve as a warning signal to others that Nigeria is no longer a dumping ground for all manners of equipment.

    Salisu Abdul who is Head, Enforcement Unit at NCC,  accused the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of operating in the country without the license for many years.

    The license, Abdul explained was supposed to have given the equipment vendor the power to operate wireless transmission equipment and sales of manufacturing of equipment among others in the country.

    According to him, Nokia did applied for the license about three months ago but did not complete the process.

    “It is criminal for any service provider to operate in the country without licence. We have sealed the office until they comply. We have to charge them based on the number of years they have operated without licence; we will use our discretion to charge them.

    “All equipment vendors, OEMs must comply with local regulations; the NCC is the sole regulator of the telecom sector in Nigeria and one of our functions is the issuance of telecom licenses. In one of our monitoring activities, we discovered that Nokia-Alcatel has not obtained the required authorisation to operate their services in this country.

    “As a matter of fairness and transparency, we decided to pay them a visit. We however discovered that they only applied for license about three months back and are yet to complete the process for the license. Basically, we have decided to seal off the premises of Nokia until they obtain the requisite authorisation.

    “The license is barely N2million to obtain. We have sealed off the premises and we will not open it till they comply. The penalty is dependent on the number of years they’ve been on ground. We might have to levy a fine against Nokia before unsealing the premises,”Abdul said.

    Reacting to the closures, Nokia  assured its customers in the country of its continued collaboration with the regulator on the matter.

    “The temporary closing of our administrative office in Lagos is an important matter to us. We continue to closely collaborate with NCC and are accelerating our efforts to quickly regularise our licence. We remain fully committed to delivering world-class connectivity solutions to the Nigerian market and positively contributing to the country socio-economic development,” the firm explained through its regional office.

    The regulator had last week too, visited Aviat Network Limited for enforcement action but discovered that the equipment vendor has fully complied with their license obligation.

    NCC also sanctioned Innjoo, Chinese mobile phone maker with a fine of N4 million for selling non type approved handsets in the Nigerian market. It was gathered that last year, the Commission had to seal its office too.

    This development may have also sent a strong message to foreign OEMs in the computer village Ikeja importing all manners of cellular handsets without type-approval by NCC.

    Although payment was done after several months of grace by the Commission, one  clear message is that it longer shall be business as usual for defaulters who fail to comply with the local regulations.

    Abdul who led the team said the sanction has been suspended following the payment.

    He recalled that the NCC had in August last year carried out an enforcement action against the firm and discovered that it was selling devices not type-approved by the regulator.

    Abdul said: “As a result of the enforcement action, a fine of N4 million was imposed on them and their office was sealed. We are in Innjo office today for enforcement action. We have been engaging with them. They have decided not to pay the fine. We have decided to come today for enforcement action.

    “When we got here, they told us that they have actually not received a notice of sanction. Honestly, a letter was sent to a lawyer representing Innjor technology limited. So when we gave them a copy of the letter of sanction today, they immediately complied. They have paid the fine of 4 million and the sanction has been suspended. This is a warning to other phone manufacturers to get their devices type approved by NCC. This is an opportunity for them to get necessary type- approval .It is an offence to sell devices not type approved by NNC.”

    All equipment manufacturers, vendors and operators, including customer devices such as mobile phones and wireless adapters, he added must therefore ensure that their equipment conform to the applicable standards as mandated by the Commission before bringing them into Nigeria.

    To ensure maximum interoperability and affordability for consumers, the Type Approval standards set by the Nigerian Communications Commission, he saidare based on international standards.