The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NCC

  • NCC, ALTON to discuss broadband at NITRA confab

    All is now set for the fourth and last in the series of this year’s Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) Quarterly Forum billed for December 14, 2018, at the CitiHeight Hotel, Opebi Link, Ikeja, Lagos.

    NITRA, under the supervision of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), is an umbrella body for journalists reporting information and communications technology in Nigeria.

    In collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), NITRA promises to address the challenges of broadband, especially with last mile connectivity, at this fourth quarter forum.

    The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta is the keynote speaker at the event expected to draw the largest gathering of ICT industry players under one roof.

    Themed: “Achieving Last Mile Connectivity Through Affordable Broadband,” the forum will not only highlight the opportunities and challenges of deploying affordable broadband in Nigeria but will look at the strategies being adopted by the NCC to achieve this.

    Experts argue that in order to address Nigeria’s last mile connectivity, it’s important that the Government creates incentives that would encourage telcos to invest in connectivity in rural areas and other less profitable regions.

    Achieving last mile connectivity in Nigeria, therefore, requires a concerted effort among government, civil society organisations, policy makers, mobile operators, service providers, academia etc. It also requires a combination of solutions ranging from policies to technologies, transparency to regulations etc.

    The NCC had in 2016, rolled out an 8-point agenda aimed at broadband access and penetration. Through the agenda, the NCC hopes to promote deployment of universally available, fast and reliable network infrastructure that will stimulate seamless broadband penetration to drive technology innovation and overall productivity of Nigeria’s economy.

     

  • 5G: NCC suspends licensing of key bands

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended the licensing of key bands in Region 1 in preparation for the adoption of 5G technology in the country, its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said yesterday.

    According to him, the Commission has identified some of the potential frequency bands that may be harmonised for 5G deployment in Region 1 and therefore suspended the licensing of such frequencies.

    “This step will ensure that Nigeria is not caught unaware when those frequency bands are harmonised by standardisation bodies. Key amongst these bands are 26gigahertz (GHz), 38GHz,and 42GHz bands,” he said.

    Speaking at a Stakeholders Consultative Forum on 5G Readiness and High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) Technologies at Barcelona Hotel, Abuja, Prof. Danbatta said though the 5G framework is being defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the commission is planning massive deployment of infrastructures for the new technology.

    Represented by the Director of Spectrum Administration, Eng. Austine Nwaulune, the EVC said:  “The technology is unique and promising in that , it is scalable and customisable, and therefore often equipped with mission-dependent payloads that are intended to act as fixed stations, delivering services such as high capacity wide area coverage broadband, relay stations, remote sensing, weather observations, navigations, digital TV and others within the earth’s atmosphere.”

    HAPS are also known to be low cost at implementation, and are expected to be the next big infrastructure for wireless communications. It supports rapid roll out and has the ability to serve many end users, Prof. Danbatta added.

    Speaking further on the new technology he said:  “According to a research conducted by GSMA in 2018, about 5.17 billion people were already mobile in 2017, and is projected to rise to 6 billion by 2025. In Nigeria alone, going by September 2018 statistics, we had about 106 million active internet subscribers.

    “In another research by McKinsey Global, it is estimated that over 75 billion devices will be connected to the internet by the year 2025, with global economic contribution ranging 3.9 billion dollars to 11.1 trillion dollars annually.

    “As such all stakeholders are challenged to help develop smarter and efficient ways of utilising the already limited available resources in order to maximise the gains of these technologies.”

  • NCC: telcos to roll out 5G services

    The  Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) at the weekend said telcos will roll out 5G services by 2020.

    Its Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Prof Garba Umar Danbatta, who gave the assurance on the sidelines of a workshop titled: ‘Driving innovation and growth.’

    The workshop was organised by the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA), in collaboration with the NCC in Abuja.

    Dambatta said already, telcos have started test-running the technology in Atlantic City, Lagos.

    He said: “We are looking at 2020, which is just about two years from now.

    “One trial is taking place in the Atlantic City, Lagos. We are working towards ensuring productivity and efficiency. We are putting in place infrastructure that would support 3G, 4G LTE and 5G.

    “The benefits of this technology are archived by GSMA. They have been here to help us review licensing formulas – 2020 is the D-day of 5G in Nigeria.

    “In the world we live in today, mobile communication is a cardinal tool of economic development, growth and integration, and the mobile industry is a key enabler of productivity across economies and societies.

    “The mobile industry is not only a significant contributor to the economic activities of Nigeria, but also towards the growth of other sectors of the economy. The NCC has been, and continues to play a key role in the development of mobile communication in Nigeria, and I am delighted to be part of this event today.”

    Also,  Head of sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA, Akinwale Goodluck, said the organisation’s research has shown that the mobile market in Nigeria has made significant contribution to the economy.

    He said: “The mobile industry contributed $21 billion to GDP in 2017, representing 5.5 per cent of Nigeria’s total GDP. In addition, the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy resulted in the creation of nearly 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.

    “For Nigeria to take full advantage of the next phase of its digital transformation, it’s vital that collaboration between industry and government enables the right policy environment for millions more to benefit from ultra-fast mobile broadband.

    “If policies don’t keep pace with the needs of society and technological innovation, there is a risk that citizens will be left behind and productivity and competitiveness will suffer.”

    Goodluck said the report concludes that there is still broad scope for Nigeria to increase its mobile penetration.

    “The GSMA has identified support for and release of harmonised spectrum and a modernised licensing framework as fundamental building blocks for Nigeria’s digital future.

    “The harmonisation of 1427-1518 MHz and 3.3–3.6 GHz makes them critically important bands for mobile operators seeking to offer new mobile services to consumers and businesses. A future-fit licensing regime will help promote market growth, boost investor confidence and enable increased connectivity.

    “Building on the progress already achieved by the NCC, the GSMA recommends the following reforms in its report; retire the Digital Mobile Licence, the National Carrier Licence and the International Gateway Licence; eliminate superseded conditions in the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) and migrate many others towards a supplementary general UASL conditions document or to parallel regulations,” Goodluck said.

  • NCC, telcos disagree on SIM swap fraud

    • 88 illegal SIM reg centres identified

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday in Lagos, faulted attempt by the telcos in the country to absolve themselves of complicity in ongoing subscriber identity module (SIM) swap fraud.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the newly elected executives of Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF),  the Executive Secretary, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbolahan Awonuga, said telcos should not be blamed for losing cash to fraudsters through SIM swap.

    According to him, victims should blame their banks for whatever happened to the money kept in the custody of the banks.

    But responding,  Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) at NCC, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulan, said the regulator has not given the telcos a clean bill of health on the matter, insisting that it is curious how services actually disappear from victim’s phones giving credibility to the directive of the fraudsters for victims to switch off their phones.

    Representing the Executive Commissioner Stakeholders Management, Mr. Sunday Dare, she said the Commission is still looking at the facts.

    Meanwhile, the regulator said it has uncovered 88 illegal centres for SIM card registrations across the country and would soon carry out a clamp down on them.

    Mr Dare who told reporters in Abuja, said the NCC is determined to stop the menace of improperly registered, unregistered and pre-registered SIM cards in the country.

    He said said arrangements are being made to carry out raids on the identified locations. “Eighty-eight locations have been identified nationwide as hubs for dealing in pre-registration of SIM cards and other forms of dirty registration,”he said.

    Mr. Dare said the Commission’s collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to end the dangerous practice led to the raid of Central Market, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State and the arrest of three persons.

    He said the fight against pre-registration of SIM cards has also received another boost as a meeting held on September 3, 2018 between the Commission, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) continue to yield results.

    He said MTN has delisted 179 agents who were engaged in SIM card pre-registration, saying the move was  part of the resolution reached at the September meeting and called on other operators to follow the same path.

    “In compliance with the resolutions reached at the meeting between the Commission, MNOs and NSCDC held on September 3, 2018, the Commission is in receipt of an Intelligence Report/Rapid Letter from MTN dated November 2, 2018.

    “MTN reported that 179 registration agents were delisted nationwide for their involvement in pre-registration of SIM cards and dirty registration. In addition to this, devices were retrieved and registrations carried out by such agents were deactivated,” Mr. Dare said.

    While commending MTN for complying with the resolution, NCC called on other MNOs to submit intelligence and monthly raid reports as agreed at the meeting.

    The Commission also urged the network operators to engage in aggressive sensitisation campaign on the danger of dealing in any business that has to do with pre-registration of SIM cards.

  • NCC uncovers 88 illegal centres for SIM registration

    The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has uncovered 88 illegal centres for SIM card registrations across the country and would soon carry out a clamp down on them.

    Its Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Mr. Sunday Dare who disclosed this said the NCC is determined to stop the menace of improperly registered, unregistered and pre-registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Cards in the country.

    He said arrangements are being made to carry out raids on the identified locations. “Eighty-eight (88) locations have been identified nationwide as hubs for dealing in Pre-registration of SIM cards and other forms of dirty registration”, he added.

    Mr. Dare said in a statement that the Commission’s collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to end the dangerous practice recently resulted in the raid of Central Market, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State and the arrest of three persons.

    The Commissioner said the fight against pre-registration of SIM cards has also received another boost as a meeting held on September 3, 2018 between the Commission, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) continue to yield results.

    According to him, MTN Nigeria recently delisted 179 agents who were engaged in pre-registration of SIM cards, saying the move was part of the resolution reached at the September meeting and called on other operators to follow the same path.

    “In compliance with the resolutions reached at the meeting between the Commission, MNOs and NSCDC held on September 3, 2018, the Commission is in receipt of an Intelligence Report/Rapid Letter from MTN dated November 2, 2018.

    “MTN reported that One Hundred and Seventy-Nine (179) registration agents were delisted nationwide for their involvement in pre-registration of SIM cards and dirty registration. In addition to this, devices were retrieved and registrations carried out by such agents were deactivated,” Mr. Dare said.

    While commending MTN for complying with the resolution, NCC called on other MNOs to submit intelligence and monthly raid reports as agreed at the meeting.

    The Commission also urged the network operators to engage in aggressive sensitisation campaign on the danger of dealing in any business that has to do with pre-registration of SIM cards.

  • FUTA urges NCC to ensure better service, accurate data

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been urged to compel global service for mobile (GSM) communication service providers to improve the quality of service (QoS) on their networks so that subscribers could get the full value for the money spent on buying airtime.

    The Commission was also advised to keep data about the industry so that should the need arise, its regulator would be a ready data repertoire that other organisations could fall back upon.

    Speaking in Lagos during the Roundtable with Academia, Industry and other Stakeholders in the Southwest Regions organised by the NCC at the University of Lagos, the Ag, Head, Computer Engineering Department, School of Engineering Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Dr, Folasade M. Dahunsi, lamented that efforts to get data about the industry from the regulator was to no avail.

    She said in the absence of data from the regulator, what the university community did was to develop an application which was deployed to gauge the QoS of the telcos within the community.

    According to her, the data collated from the app showed that telecoms subscribers were far from enjoying the minimal acceptable service quality required.

    She also urged the regulator to urgently address the issue of local roaming of subscriber identity module (SIM) card so that whenever a subscriber gets to an environment that is not fully covered by a carrier, such a customer could roam so that he or she would not be completely shut out of the global world of information communications technology.

    Responding, one of the panelists,  Head, Regulatory Affairs at ntel, Olatunbosun Hambolu, said part of the challenges facing the telcos was access to foreign exchange to procure the requisite equipment to expand network capacity.

    He said all the equipment needed in the industry are sourced offshore, lamenting that when the naira/dollar exchange rate is put into consideration, then, it is plenty of problem for the telcos.

     

  • NCC seeks academia’s collaboration to develop ICT sector

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is seeking the collaboration of the academia to grow the industry and impact positively, not only the subscribers but also the environment.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof Garba Dambatta, who spoke during the roundtable with the academia in Lagos, said the advancement of technology across several spheres of human endeavour has created new industries, opportunities, new knowledge areas and challenges. This, he said, has increased the speed at which alignment between the different stakeholders in the economy needed to take place to ensure no aspect of development is left lagging.

    He said: “Traditionally, as we all know, regulation lags innovation. Thus, in the fast moving technology ecosystem, the need for regulators to raise their game to ensure regulations are relevant to existing realities is pertinent. This will ensure that the maximum benefit in innovation can be harnessed, and the potential risks mitigated on a timely basis.

    “In general, the academia is a key driver of innovation in all spheres of human endeavours. But in specific terms, the ideas, inventions and improvements that emanate from the academia are required by industry for improved efficiencies and productivity. With these in mind, the regulator as a critical component of any ecosystem aims to ensure all stakeholders are protected and the industry nurtured for maximum benefit to business and society.”

    According to Dambatta, the growth of new technologies such as internet of things (loT), Artificial Intelligence (Al), Cloud Computing, increased delivery of speed by various broadband technologies such as 4G and 5G technologies, advancement in processor and other electronics technologies have led to huge opportunities and risks. This, he said, has led to “the need for collaboration between academia, industry and regulators to ensure these technologies can be properly harnessed and standards built in such a way that is beneficial to all stakeholders”.

     

     

    The potential opportunities and important aspects that should be considered by all stakeholders are critical aspects that academia are invited to research and proffer pragmatic solutions, he added.

    “The future is something we should be ready for, and adapt to, or we should see the future as something which we can create. I want to look at three areas which are fundamental to the future.

    Firstly, I want to briefly look at innovation in terms of new ideas in ICT. Secondly, I want to look at industry growth in terms of building capabilities and stronger industry systems through a collaborative, academia-industry-led approach. I will also want to look at sustainability. For technology to be sustainable, it should imply that using it does not have any long-term adverse effect on the environment. And thirdly, perhaps the most important for this forum, I want to look at the role of the regulator in promoting synergy between the academia and the industry,” he said.

    According to him, innovation is seen as a way to breaking away from the old and embracing new technologies. “Innovate or Die” is a slogan used by many business enterprises. In perspective, innovation to the telcos can be a linear machine to deliver what they deliver best.  Every telecom provider will aspire to transform into that new agile future -looking telecom firm. “Recognising this increasing phenomenon, the Commission has, among other things, directed funds to encourage innovation by boosting research and development (R&D) in universities across the country. I am glad to say that our universities are making good progress in ICT R&D,’ he said.

    He said the NCC strives to ensure the engagement of all stakeholders to improve efficiency and impact consumers positively.

    The telecoms industry for example has enormous potential for enabling environmental, social and economic benefits through broadband connectivity, he posited, adding that as it continues to experience exponential traffic growth, network energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue.

    “In the last two decades, telecoms has emerged as a key driver of economic and social development in an increasingly knowledge intensive global scenario. It is said that “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”. To sustain the standard of living of an ever increasing Nigerian population, a strategy for continual development in telecoms technology needs to be given attention and timely research in that area be conducted by the academia that will result in minimal impact on the environment. ICT can bring about social benefit as well as economic development. Research contributes towards industry and sustainable technological development should not occur exclusively by means of efforts developed in labs or publication of papers.

    “We need to collaborate with an emphasis on determination on development of prototypes that meet the standards required by the industry.

    Academia is challenged to study the impact of various practices and issues peculiar to Nigerian operating environment on the operational efficiency and service delivery capability and performance by telecoms industry players for example to subscribers. It will surely be an interesting read to see the new insights this may provide,” Dambatta said.

     

     

  • NCC weighs options as OTT threatens telcos

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday in Lagos said it was not unaware of the debilitating challenge faced by telcos as a result of the activities of Over The Top (OTT) service providers.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof Garba Dambatta, told some licensees of the Commission during the annual stakeholders meeting with them at Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, that much of the problems of the industry could be traced to lax governance standards.

    He said the Commission expected all licensees (including those or whom the Code is not yet mandatory) to review their governance practices to better conform with the code.

    According to Wikipedia, OTT is a term used to refer to content providers that distribute streaming media as a standalone product directly to viewers over the internet, bypassing telecoms, multichannel television, and broadcast television platforms that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.

    Dambatta said the Commission is not disregarding the impact of the disruptive changes brought about by advancements in technology, changing values and growing efficiency. According to him,  the consequence of the mix is that businesses are having to grapple with staying alive as their turnover takes successive hits by of OTT services that are eating into traditional revenue at a pace that barely allows legacy companies room to respond to the changes taking place.

    “Licensees had drawn attention to the impact on their operations and viability, and the NCC is actively weighing alternatives.

    “Even as we gather here to ponder individual and collective responses to the disruption by emerging technologies, new discoveries and inventions are coming out that could diminish the value of investments being made in the telecoms sector. But are we to allow the sector to be forced into inaction because of the pace at which new technologies and systems are emerging? The response is no.

    “I am aware that players in the sector are struggling to innovate and to deploy creative ideas for remaining relevant in an age when the life cycle of a concept is barely longer than six months. I assure you of the full support of the NCC in this quest,” Dambatta said.

     

  • NCC blames subscribers apathy for unsolicited messages

    The Nigerians Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday blamed the refusal of global system for mobile communications (GSM) subscribers to complain whenever they receive unsolicited messages for the prevalence of the practice in the telecoms industry.

    The commission lamented that out of the 161 million telecoms consumers, only 10 million people have lodged  complaints at NCC’s complaints centre.

    Executive Commissioner (Stakeholders Management), NCC Sunday Dare spoke in Ogbomosho, Oyo State at the 10th edition of Consumer Outreach Programme (COP).

    He said: “NCC has created too many spaces. There is a gap between NCC providing the information for the consumers and the consumers actually using that information. For example we gave a number 2442 out for consumers to complaints about unsolicited calls and messages. When we started we had 900,000 people, after one year, we had 10 million people. We have 161 million consumers only 10 millions have activated and others are complaining. Why? Because they have the information but not activating it, we have our complaints centre for 24 hours. It is left for the consumers to get the information to empower themselves.

    “The NCC does not have the policy of name and shame. What is important is the resolution of the complaints. I can tell you from our complaints centre we receive close to 8,000 complaints. The resolution rate is over 90 per cent. And I think that is what is important. That means rather than wait to be fined they operators work closely to resolve these complaints.”

    Mr. Dare added that “the level of compliance of the network providers to our regulation has been about 80 per cent. They also know that there is a cost for non compliance. We fine them millions of Naira on a monthly and quarterly basis. We don’t put it out in the media but they feel the pain. They pay this money for default. Every single consumer is important to NCC. If you are a consumer and you reach us on 622 for your complaints, the NCC will defend you and you will be compensated.”

    Earlier, Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of the commission, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam said NCC is working to reduce the menace of call masking/refilling.

    She added that the strategies being used to abate that include deployment of appropriate technology and working on the issuance of direction to MNOs to explore technical means not to allow their networks to be used for call masking and SIM boxing activities.

  • NCC seeks UK’s collaboration on digital inclusion, others

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the United Kingdom (UK) government, have agreed to collaborate on digital inclusion, cyber security, capacity building and bridging the  yawning access gap in the nation’s information communication technology (ICT) space.

    NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, spoke on the collaboration after meeting with Senior Private Sector Development Adviser & Head, Digital Inclusion at Department of Foreign &International Development (DFID), Alessandra Lustrati, who led a high-powered delegation from the UK on courtesy visit to NCC headquarters in Anuja..

    “This delegation is here to explore how the UK government can channel a significant intervention to the tune of £1.2 billion to create wealth and posterity in selected countries around the world. And this creation of posterity will leverage the power of ICT to provide access to unserved and underserved areas in the country. The intervention is also on cyber security and capacity building, three key areas,” he said.

    Earlier, Danbatta had told the delegation that there were 200 access gaps in the country and the Commission was looking at different rural technology solutions to bridge the gaps in two years, as against the 20 years projected.

    “With the right rural technology solution, we can do it faster, because at the rate we are plugging the gaps, it will take us about 20 years to conclude.  These gaps deprive 40 million Nigerians of access to telecoms services, out of 190 million.

    “The good thing about getting a solution to the access gap problem  is that, we know where the gaps are, we have our access gap map, we can actually point out where the gaps are,” he said.

    Speaking earlier, Lustrati told the EVC that the UK government was hoping to start the implementation of the intervention from as early as April, next year, noting that the project was deliberately made “country-specific” to enable countries like Nigeria choose the nature of the interventions they desire.