With the outbreak of Covid-19, dip in oil prices and lockdown of global economies, the information communications technology (ICT) sector appears to be an area worthy of focus, especially in economic diversification. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that the renaming of NCC Office Anex, Mbora, Abuja to Digital Economy Complex and its inauguration underscores the pivotal role NCC could play in this era.

 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has consistently stressed the need to end a monolithic economy lubricated by crude.

So, during the unveiling of the new National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025, inauguration of Communications and Digital Economy Complex (CDEC), and launching of Abuja Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) and the National Emergency Toll-Free Number 112, all projects of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and flag-off of the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training programme of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Buhari said CDEC signified the administration’s desire to ensure that the country becomes a major player in global digital economy.

He said: “Digital Economy will also support us in fighting corruption through digitalisation and enabling government digital services. Digital technologies have become a useful platform for economic diversification. Having recognised the benefits of these technologies we have decided to adopt the digital economy paradigm early.”

He urged mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure the attainment of the targets set in the new National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025 by giving attention to un-served and underserved areas while deploying their services.

CDEC

According to the CEO, NCC, Prof Garba Dambatta, Commission is the independent regulatory authority for the telecoms industry, established by Decree number 75 of 1992 and reestablished by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

As part of NCC’s desire to further develop the communications sector, the NCC set up the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in 2005 and the NCC-DBI hostel and recreational facilities as part of its initiative to provide a conducive atmosphere for the students. The facility was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its 45th meeting of November 22, 2006.

The NCC-DBI hostel and recreational facilities were abandoned before completion and were redesigned and modified by the NCC management in 2018 from a hostel to an office complex  (NCC Annex, Mbora)  and  now renamed the CDEC in line with current realities and policy direction.

The facility provides office accommodation to Communications & Digital Economy Minister, Dr Ali Pantami and four departments of the Commission.

CDEC, according to Dambatta, sits on eight hectares at Mbora district of Abuja with two level basement floors and five floors from ground level. It has many facilities, such as this 650-seater auditorium, offices, 300 mutli-level car park spaces and an additional 200 within the premises.

In the same vein, this beautiful facility has a crèche for nursing mothers, industrial kitchen, a gymnasium and other sporting facilities for squash, table tennis, swimming pool and sewage treatment plant.

 ECCs

Contrary to insinuation that the  ECC was the brainchild of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),  the establishment of ECCs across the country was in line with NCC’s mandate under Section 107 of NCA 2003, to promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number designed as the universal safety and emergency assistance number for telephone services.

“In line with this mandate that the Board of the NCC, in 2006, with the endorsement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), commenced the establishment of an Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) in each of the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“Consequently, the NCC allocated the toll-Free three-digit number ‘112’ as the Universal Emergency Communications telephone number in Nigeria,” the NCC explained.

Through this number, the public can access help when in distress by dialling 112 from any of the networks at no cost. This can help distressed persons access help from the police, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Fire and Ambulance Services. Today, there are 18 ECCs scattered across 17 states and the FCT.

NBP 2020-2025

The new NBP 2020-2025 sets another ambitious target of 70 per cent.

The NCC has a big role  to acheive this target. This is because as at that the time the government came into power in 2015, broadband penetration was only six per cent. “Today it stands at 38.49 per cent; we are expectant that with government support, this will increase rapidly within the coming years,” he said.

Broadband is the medium through which ICTs can be networked to create jobs and provide efficiency to support government and businesses. It is the platform on which all ICTs will operate and is key to the efficiency of the ECCs and the development of digital innovation. The statistics of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) also indicate that for every 10per cent increase in broadband, there is a corresponding GDP growth of 1.3per cent.

“We are pleased to state that the telecoms and information services contributed 9.2per cent to the GDP of Nigeria in third quarter, 2019 with information communications making a total contribution of 11.34per cent,” he said.

Challenges

The autonomy of NCC is vital to driving the realisation of the NBP and the digital economy vision of the Ministry.

The President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria  (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, agrees no less. He  said the sector was able to create over 100,000 indirect jobs, attract $70billion FDI, boost GDP and became the biggest industry in Africa because of the autonomy of the regulator.

Also, the Chairman, Association of Licenced Telecoms companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the law that created the NCC stated clearly that the minister must guarantee and protect the autonomy of the NCC.

“We must be careful not to subject the regulator to populist pronouncements. My appeal to the minister is that we shouldn’t undermine the autonomy of the regulator because that will be dangerous, The autonomy of the NCC is sancrosanct and not negotiable,” Adebayo warned during the data pricing directive controversy alst .

For the health of the industry, the minister should use his influence at the Presidential Villa to tackle vandalism, multiple taxation, Right of Way  and other challenges to clear the coast for digital economy, an analyst said.

 

 

Despite the breakthrough and large success recorded by fintech in redefining financial service, the fintech ecosystem still falls short of talents to grow the market for sustainability.

Across the globe, fintech has shaped banking operations with seamless and simple innovative solutions. The disruption has helped to deepen the global financial inclusion and boost economic output.

In Nigeria, the fintech ecosystem has grown to become a leading network in Africa’s financial service industry through innovative solutions in lendtech, insurtech, wealth tech etc. The fintech industry is regarded as a dominant force in Africa.

However, despite the huge potential of fintech, access to and retention of best-in-class talent is a growing concern within the industry.

According to a PwC report in 2017, 77per cent of the CEOs surveyed view skills shortages as business threats.

Given the essential role of human capital in the coming decades, a the global war for talent is beginning and will intensify.

Research has shown that the local educational systems are not providing the necessary skills to train students in today’s AI-driven industries, as companies and countries are being confronted with a significant talent shortages.

As fintech evolves globally, and sets more sophisticated requirements for technology skills, many businesses lag behind due to the lack of talents and resources to bring their innovative ideas to life.

In part, the fintech talents gap is justified and even self-explanatory: the industry is relatively new and has to nurture new talents to meet its challenges.

Read Also: How Fintech empowers startups

 

The number of people that are proficient in finance and technologies is still dramatically low; needless to say, they are in high demand and command high salary.

Skills such as blockchain, programming languages – Python, C++, C#, GoLang, SQL, JavaScript and Java ML, AI, and Deep Learning, cybersecurity including soft skills such as communication, creativity and high EQ are at short-fall in the industry.

To bridge this gap, the organiser of  2020 Lagos Fintech Week has incorporated  Fintech Talents Summit  (FTS) into the annual week-long event to build a high capacity talent-based for the fintech ecosystem.

According to the chairman of the organising committee, Dr Yele Okeremi, the Fintech Talents Summit (FTS) is the premier space for multi-disciplinary stakeholders from the private sector, policy, academia/education, and innovation to come together “to discuss the trends and solutions for the future of work and education in financial technology space”.

Dr  Okeremi said, “FTS will attract strategists, key opinion leaders and relevant stakeholders to shape the future of talents in Fintech through education, innovation, and recruitment.”

He informed that FTS is co-located within Lagos Fintech Week. Lagos Fintech Week is organized by Fintech 1000+, the largest Fintech group in Africa comprising regulators, Bank CEOs, government, investors, insurers, Fintech firms and the media.

He added that  the summit will discuss topics such as Community-as-a-Service which will centre on connecting the right talent for current and future opportunities, Fintech Talents Acquisition Strategy among others.

According to him, the summit will attract top fintech leaders in the ecosystem such as Programme Manager, Google Developer Ecosystem, Aniedi Udo-Obong, and Chief Information Officer at Interswitch, Femi Ogungbamila, CEO, Innovectives and Emmanuel Agha among others.

 

 

Facebook has removed 49 Facebook accounts, 69 pages and 85 Instagram accounts for engaging in foreign interference – which is coordinated inauthentic behaviour on behalf of a foreign actor – on Facebook, Instagram and other internet platforms.

Its Head of Security Policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said this network was in the early stages of building an audience and was operated by local nationals – some wittingly and some unwittingly – in Ghana and Nigeria for individuals in Russia. It targeted primarily the US.

The people behind this network engaged in a number of deceptive tactics, including the use of fake accounts – some of which had already been disabled by our automated systems – to manage Pages posing as non-government organisations or personal blogs, and post in Groups.

They frequently posted about US news and attempted to grow their audience by focusing on topics like black history, black excellence and fashion, celebrity gossip, news and events related to famous Americans like historical figures and celebrities, and LGBTQ issues.

Gleicher said: “This activity did not appear to focus on elections, or promote or denigrate political candidates. They also shared content about oppression and injustice, including police brutality.

Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their purpose and coordination, our investigation found links to EBLA, an NGO in Ghana, and individuals associated with past activity by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA).

“We detected this network as a result of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior ahead of US elections. The network was linked to the activity we had previously removed and attributed to the IRA in April, July and November 2018.

Our assessment benefited from our subsequent collaboration with a team of journalists at CNN. We’ve shared information with our industry peers, policy makers and law enforcement and will continue working with others to find and remove this kind of behavior from our platform.

Read Also: Why I ‘killed’ my homosexual Facebook friend, by suspect

 

“Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Pages and 85 accounts on Instagram.

“About 13,500 accounts followed one or more of these Pages and around 265,000 people followed one or more of these Instagram accounts (about 65per cent of which were in the US).

“Less than $5 was spent on ads focused on people in the US, none of which were political or issue ads.

Our systems repeatedly rejected attempts by this network to run issue or political ads in the US because the people behind it were not authorized to run political ads in the US.

In total, we identified approximately $379 in spending for ads on Facebook and Instagram paid for in US dollars, the majority of which were run before this operation began by people who wittingly or unwittingly joined this network in the second half of 2019.

We’re constantly working to detect and stop this type of activity because we don’t want our services to be used to manipulate people. We’re taking down these Pages and accounts because this activity was linked to individuals associated with the IRA, an entity we had previously banned from Facebook, they also used fake accounts and coordinated with one another and to mislead people about what they were doing. That behavior was the basis for our action, not the content they posted.

In addition to announcing this enforcement action today, it will also be included in our monthly CIB report for March 2020.

We are making progress rooting out this abuse, but as we’ve said before, it’s an ongoing challenge. We’re committed to continually improving to stay ahead. That means building better technology, hiring more people and working more closely with law enforcement, security experts and other companies.

Below is a sample of the content posted by some of these Pages.

In spite of the challenging operating environment, the Senate Committee on Communications  commended the regulatory functions of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) during its maiden visit.   LUCAS AJANAKU writes that the visit should open a new vista of harmonious work relationship with the legislators.

 

In pursuit of its oversight functions, the Senate Committee on Communications has paid familiarisation and fact-finding visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja. It was an opportunity for the Commission to reel out its challenges to get legislative intervention.

The CEO of the Commission, Prof Garba Dambatta, told the Committee Chairperson, Senator Oluremi Tinubu the major challenges confronting telecoms operators and sought the intervention of the Senate.

 

Challenges

Dambatta identified power is one of the biggest challenges facing telecoms operations in the country.

According to industry sources, operators spent N175 million daily or N45 billion monthly in 2014 on diesel for powering their Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) nationwide.

But the NCC said it was working  to solve these challenges through the recommendation of the use of environmentally sustainable energy sources to the telecoms operators such as the use of solar energy to power the BTS.

Another area highlighted by the regulator was multiple regulations and multiple taxation. As at the last count, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria(ALTON),Gbenga Adebayo, there are about 40 charges in the industry.

According to him, the taxes have no bearing with telecoms operations, such as parking tax, effluent discharge tax, social service levy, PAYE tax, right of way (RoW) tax, sewage tax, environmental/ecological tax, hawking levy, and building fitness levy.

“The unfair taxes and billing levied on telcos constitute a drawback to infrastructure deployment in the telecoms sector. Engagements are ongoing with different tiers of government and government agencies at Federal, state and local government levels,” Dambatta said.

Wilful vandalism of telecoms infrastructure and theft of batteries, deisel and other equipment at site were highlighted to the lawmakers too. Then the delays in securing approval for sites for new base.

 

 Milestones

The NCC told the visiting lawmakers that in 2017, the Commission received a Platinum Category Certificate of Award for exceptional Organisational Performance by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).

The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) considered, very strong business organisational structure, policies and practices that facilitate effective and efficient service delivery as some of the high points, before naming the NCC tops in institutional work processes in the country.

The country attained 38.49 per cent broadband penetration last year December while the number of active subscribers stood at 184,699,409.

Active internet subscription  by GSM stood at 125,728,328; fixed wired – 9,670; voice over internet protocol (VoIP) was 341, 001 bringing total to 126,078,999.

Teledensity grew to 96.76 while total contribution of the sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hit 10.60 per cent.

In response to request from stakeholders request, the regulator also developed Spectrum Trading Guidelines to enable operators in possession of un-utilised or under-utilised frequency spectrum to trade such limited assets in the secondary market, thus freeing resources and eliminating spectrum hoarding in the industry.

Efforts to leverage the television white space (TVWS) technology to extend affordable broadband services to Nigerians in the digitally excluded areas:

Dambatta told the lawmakers of the trial of Fifth Generation (5G) network in the country, preparatory to its commercial deployment to improve digital services experienced by Nigerians while there is development of guidelines for commercial satellite deployment which has seen the registration of major satellite providers in the country. This will help to provide satellite-based broadband services to those hitherto excluded, among others.

According to experts, spectrum  is the oxygen of the telecoms sector. Its management therefore is critical. The NCC has auctioned six slots of 2×5 megahertz (MHz) in the 2.6 gigahertz (GHz) band, to re-planning of the 800 MHz band for long- term evolution (LTE), and to assigning of 2×10 MHz spectrum to Glo Mobile for trial in the 700 MHz.

Also from regularisation of 2×10 MHz Spectrum in the 700 MHz band previously assigned to MTN by National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the purpose of providing LTE services, to opening up 70/80 GHz band for both last-mile and backhaul services, among other numerous spectrum managements, the impacts cannot be gainsaid.

The implementation of the Open Access Model for infrastructure deployment through the competitively selected Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) called the InfraCo Project. The InfraCo initiative will provide, at a minimum, broadband fibre and connectivity to every Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the Federation, totalling 774 fibre Points of Access (PoAs) with a minimum speed of 10 Gbps which will translate to, at least, 28,902km of fibre deployment in the next four years.

The Commission licensed six infrastructure companies (Infracos) to drive the deployment of infrastructure across the nation’s geographical zones and Lagos, while the remaining one (for Northcentral) is being processed.

There was the Direction on Data Roll-over to service providers to  enable consumers to roll over unused data for a period, ranging from one to seven days, depending on the data plan, among other consumer- centric directives.

 

Senate  response

Responding, Senator Tinubu said, given the myriad of challenges facing the industry and the achievements of the Commission so far, its regulatory interventions and performance deserves to be  appreciated and commended.

She said: “We are here on a familiarisation and fact-finding tour to the Commission but I must say that we are impressed by the presentation made by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, on the activities of the Commission so far in regulating the industry.

Read Also: 31m Nigerians yet to enjoy telecoms services

 

“We particularly see the Platinum Category Certificate of Award for exceptional organisational performance, which NCC received from the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in 2017 as a testament to your recognition as a performing agency of the Federal Government. However, we want you to do more for Nigerians.”

 

Others

The commission said it has embarked on several engagements with the Nigeria Governors Forum on issues of multiple taxation and multipple regulation. The Commission engaged with the Ogun State governor to ensure 47 BTS were unsealed;  in Kano State, N200 million was waived on levies, while in Kogi State, 120 BTS were reopened.

He recalled that 2017 was christened Year of the Consumer to underscore the importance of the consumers in the value chain. “When the campaign kicked off, fewer than 500 subscribers had activated the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb code initiated by the Commission in 2016 to tackle the menace of unsolicited telemarketing.

By December 2019, more than 24 million subscribers had activated the Do-Not-Disturb and counting. The Commission’s second layer complaint toll-free line, 622, has also become a beehive of activities,” Senator Tinubu’s team was told.

8. Industry Collaboration in line with the Commission’s Vision Plan

” The Commission has entered into several memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in the area of strategic collaboration. For example with the Central Bank of Nigeria with a view to boosting mobile money service penetration and financial inclusion in the country.

“The inter-agency partnership between the two giant regulators bore another fruit in 2018, saving a major service provider, 9mobile, from collapse.

9. Synergy with the Academia

” A new Department of Research and Development was created to improve the synergy between the Commission and the Academia in the area of research and development with the active collaboration of the industry. This is with the aim to boost telecoms related researches.

10. Launch and Activation of Emergency Communication Centers/Use of 112 Emergency Number

” To Promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number which shall be designated as the Universal Safety and Emergency Assistance Number for telephone services generally.

11. OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

“Telcos (MTN & Airtel) listing on the NSE, facilitated by the NCC has boosted capital market operations. MTN listed as part of the terms of the resolution of the fine due to regulatory infractions.

” Resolution of N1.03 Trillion Fine against MTN

” Promotion of the Code of Corporate Governance in the industry from voluntary to mandatory compliance.

“Awarded the Value Added Services Aggregator licenses to 10 companies to provide VAS services, boosting the competitiveness of the telecoms VAS segment.

” The NCC developed the New National Numbering Plan to enhance opportunities from emerging Technologies.

” In 2019, ITU Telecom World gave Awards to NCC for its commitment as a valuable Partner.

telecommunications infrastructure be so designated as CNI or CNII as provided in the Act. ALTON is happy to inform this distinguished joint committee that the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has taken the bold step to initiate a draft Executive Order which is currently being reviewed by the National Security Adviser (NSA) before being sent to the President for assent.

We believe that once this declaration is made via an executive order and relevant stakeholders are sensitized, the issue of illegal closure of facilities will reduce significantly, if it does not stop completely.

2. FCDA should grant statutory permits for site roll-out. The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) should be prevailed upon by this Distinguished Senate to resume the grant of relevant statutory approvals for the construction of BTS sites within the FCT.

   This will ensure that operators build more sites to accommodate the excess traffic that existing facilities have been struggling to cope with.

   If this is achieved, there will be less congestion in the networks and blinds spots will be effectively covered to improve QoS.

3. Governments and landlords should respect the rule of law: While an Executive Order on CNII will provide a strong legal ground to discourage illegal site lock-outs by state & local governments, communities and landlords, it is also important for those stakeholders to respect the Executive Order.

   Aggrieved parties must resort to either engagements, negotiations or the court of law to resolve disputes regarding taxes, levies, rent and lease.