The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cable

  • NCC set to cap transmission cable price for operators

    NCC set to cap transmission cable price for operators

    Worried by current regime of denial of access to viable routes, predatory pricing and discriminatory and arbitrary pricing in transmission cable sector of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it will set a cap on its cost.

    It warned that it will not hesitate to sanction any operator that breaches the cap.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Eugene Juwah who spoke in Lagos at the stakeholders consultative forum on the determination of cost based transmission cable pricing, said while it is the policy of government that appropriate prices be determined by market forces, it has recognised that in the transition from monopoly to full market competition, there would be periods market forces may be inadequate to bring about efficient market conduct and prices that are close to costs.

    Represented by its Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Okechukwu  Itanyi who spoke on the sideline after the meeting, he said  after the consideration of the report of the study contracted to KPMG, it will develop “strong enforcement regulations and cap the cost price of transmission cable in the country.”

    According to NCC, KPMG was contacted two years ago to carry out the study as part of its regulatory oversight function to address competitive dynamics, pricing and related matters in cable transmission pricing among operators.

    “In the discharge of our regulatory and oversight functions, we are committed to participatory regulation and shall continue to ensure wide consultation before major decisions affecting the industry are taken,” Juwah said.

    He said the commission engaged the services of KPMG to ensure that the execution of the project is guided by current realities in the sector.

    He explained that presentation of findings from the study to stakeholders is to further prove the commission’s participatory regulation to gather opinions and inputs for best pricing regime in the sector’s cable transmission market.

    The essence of determining a cost based transmission cable pricing and development is to enable a judicious use of spectrum with minimal frequency coordination. This allows links to be deployed close to one another without interference.

    KPMG’s Partner, Management Consulting, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, explained that the primary objective of the project is to develop a cost based option for regulating the pricing of transmission cable in the telecoms industry.

    According to him, the greatest challenge encountered in the project was access to data as it took a year before accessing data from the operators.

    He said having followed international best practices in carrying out with the study, information given by the telecoms operators was used as benchmark in the proposed pricing regime, adding that it took cognisance of the falling value of the naira and interest rate which kept going up.

  • Barber pleads guilty to cutting N1m cables from ship

    A 25-year-old barber, Michael Samuel, on Friday at a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, pleaded guilty to stealing cables worth N1 million from `MV Rosa Mystical,’ a grounded ship.

    Samuel, a resident of House 18B, Road 12, Onikepo Akande St., Lekki Phase 1, faced a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and unlawful damage.

    The Prosecutor, ASP Augustine Orji, told the court that Samuel and one other person, now at large, committed the crime on May 8, at about 2.30 a.m. on the Oniru Sandfill Waterfront.

    He said that Michael and his accomplice climbed into the compound where the vessel, which belonged to Samafall Service Ltd., berthed, and cut the electric cables.

    “The three-man crew, who were asleep, was alerted by the noise and gave chase to the two culprits who escaped.

    “The ship’s crew recognised Samuel, and with the help of other people at the waterfront, arrested him in the morning and took him to the police,” Orji said.

    He also said that the offence contravened Sections 409, 285 and 348 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused risked being jailed for three years if pronounced guilty of the offence by the court.

    Meanwhile, the Magistrate, Ms Abimbola Awogboro, adjourned the case till May 13, for facts and sentencing.

  • How to curb cable theft, by telecom chief

    THE vandalism of metro terrestrial optic fibre cables can be curbed by using aerial optic fibre cables, the Head of Business Solutions and Sales, Phase 3 Telecom, Otuya Okecha, has said.

    Speaking after receiving the ‘Best Telecommunication Broadband for Education Award’ at the Eighth Titans of Tech Conference and Expo Award in Lagos, he said embracing aerial fibre optic fibre cables is a bulwark against vandalism of cables and its attendant disruption to service delivery.

    He explained that with its strategic positioning of optic fibre cables over high tension power lines for broadband penetration with high speed and great connectivitity, it would be difficult to for vandals to wreak havoc on the cables.

    He said firm has made remarkable expansion in the provision of bandwiddth to companies and schools across the country, adding it is the first indigenous company to deploy fibre optic cables in the country.

    Okecha said the company has areial fibre optic cables covering over 4500km, adding that with the placement of the telecoms infrastructure, are not vulnerable to vandalism.

    He reiterated the firm’s committment to services delivery, especially in the provision of excellent bandwidth for the development of the country’s educational sector to generate and harness the huge potentials inherent in technologically-driven education sector.

    “We will continue to champion the adoption of a very active and sustainable e-learning system that is at par with global standards. This informed the choice of we made in focusing on the promotion of e-learning in schools. We will also take active role in the development of sports which has a huge potential to engage the nation’s youthful population,” he said.

    “e-learning is key to the knowledge economy. We will continue to support the educational sector in the country through the provision of bandwidth to make teaching and learning more exciting for students not only to excel in their academic pursuits but to have the needed confidence and intelligence to compete with their counterpart on the global scene,” he added.