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Tag: NCC

  • NCC arrests 25 suspected pirates, seizes N76.5m goods

    The Lagos Zonal Office of the Nigerian Copyright Commission has  arrested 25 suspected pirates, and seized goods worth N76.6 million in 2016,the Zonal Manager,Mr Obi Ezielo, announced yesterday in Lagos.

    The suspects were arrested at Alaba, Shomolu, Ajegunle and Ojo, while  the seized goods include 350,000 copies of optical discs, some home videos, movies, musical works and literary books, suspected of being pirated.

    Ezeilo said that NCC seized N20 million worth of goods seized in Alaba market in March and N1.5million goods in April in the same market.

    ‘’In June, N5 million goods were seized at Shomolu, in July, N50 million worth of goods were also seized in Shomolu while in August, N50,000 worth of goods were seized in Ajegunle Lamlad,” he said.

    Ezeilo said that some of the suspects had been charged to the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the commission conducted anti-piracy inspection in professional print, publishing and CDs’ distribution outlets within Lagos metropolis where it made some seizures.

    He said that the commission would step up its anti-piracy raids and eradication in 2017.

    “Despite the financial constraints confronting the commission, we will not fail to discharge our mandate, because the eradication of piracy attitude is our utmost priority.”

    He said that though 2017 was a challenging year for the commission, the commission made it marks.

  • NCC arrests 25 suspected pirates, seizes N76.5m goods

    The Lagos Zonal Office of the Nigerian Copyright Commission arrested 25 suspected pirates, and seized goods worth N76.6 million in 2016, the Zonal Manager, Mr. Obi Ezielo, said on Friday in Lagos.

    The suspects were arrested at Alaba, Shomolu, Ajegunle and Ojo while the seized goods included 350,000 copies of optical discs, some home videos, movies, musical works and literary books, suspected of being pirated.

    Ezeilo said NCC seized N20 million worth of goods in Alaba market in March and N1.5million goods in April in the same market.

    ‘’In June, N5 million goods were seized at Shomolu, in July, N50 million worth of goods were also seized in Shomolu while in August, N50,000 worth of goods were seized in Ajegunle Lamlad,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the NCC official as saying on Friday.

    Ezeilo said some of the suspects had been charged to the Federal High Court in Lagos.

     

  • NCC to telcos: brace for Yuletide traffic

    NCC to telcos: brace for Yuletide traffic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • NCC, security bodies partner on mobile crime

    NCC, security bodies partner on mobile crime

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications (NCC), Prof. Umar Dambatta, has restated the regulator’s commitment to hunting criminal elements who use the mobile phone to perpetrate heinous crimes.

    Dambatta spoke through the Commission’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services,  Ubale Maska, at the weekend during a sensitisation workshop organised by NCC in Kano, Kano State.

    He said the agency was partnering all the security agencies to ensure that crimes aided by mobile phones were reduced to the barest minimum.

    Dambatta said: “With the support of the security agencies, the commission has been able to carry out raids on criminal clusters to mop up pre-registered SIM cards and the need to migrate from there to design more effective strategies to beat every instance of violation of the laws that will ensure that anyone who is arrested in this regard is prosecuted.”

    Dambatta said the Commission inaugurated 700 projects in various institutions across the country as part of its school support programme, adding that it was all part of NCC’s series of social capital programmes aimed at galvanising the nation’s socio-economic development.

    “The projects are similar initiatives instituted by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), a special intervention fund supervised by the department of the Commission.

    “In this regard, the USPF has delivered over 400 projects to educational institutions and communities across Nigeria,” he said.

    According to him, NCC’s contribution to the nation’s GDP is put at 10 per cent, “yet, we look forward very enthusiastically to seeing greater development in the sector because we are irrevocably committed to full implementation of the National Broadband Plan.”

    Dambatta added that the commission organised the workshop to form a coalition of forces in a renewed strategic partnership with all players in the security sector to contain criminal assaults on telecommunications operations.

  • Team Offikwu win NCC Tennis League Cup

    Kaduna based Team Offikwu Sunday in Lagos completed their fairy tale run by beating defending champions Team Tombim 4-2 to clinch the 2016 NCC Tennis League Cup.

    In a tight but exciting tie played at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club and watched by His Excellency, former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme GCON and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, Team Offikwu took the two reverse singles to put the tie beyond the reach of defending champions.

    The team which debuted this year, had recovered from 2 -0 down Saturday to level the tie 2 -2 and on Sunday the young team took the two reverse singles to make the last mixed doubles match inconsequential.

    Sylvester Emmanuel, the arrow head of the “comeback kids” once again proved to be the match winner when he beat national champion, Moses Michael, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in what proved to be the final match.  Albert Bicom had earlier beaten Emmanuel Paul 6-4, 6-4.

    In his remarks, Dalung praised the level of organisation of the competition saying the success of the NCC Tennis League is a testimony that sports in Nigeria is better off being private sector driven.

    “The competition was taken to all the zones of the Federation, offered very huge prize monies which made several young men and women millionaires with no kobo coming from government. This is a good example for the Sports Federations to follow.” Dalung said

    Sir Alex Ekwueme who expressed delight that Nduka Odizor,” the Duke” was at the finals, expressed delight with the level of play and organization.

    “It was a very exciting event and I thoroughly enjoyed the matches. If this competition is sustained Nigeria should be able to produce world beaters in the very near future.” The former Vice President who still plays and follows tennis at the world level passionately, said.

    Team Offikwu got N7 million while runners-up Team Tombim got N5 million. Team Civil Defence winners of the third place concluded Friday went home with N4 million while the fourth place team, Team FCT got N2 million.

    The competition was organized by the International Tennis Academy.

  • Regulator, operators bicker over data tariff ‘hike’

    Regulator, operators bicker over data tariff ‘hike’

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

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

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

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

     

    How it started

     

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

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

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

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

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

     

    What is price floor?

     

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

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

     

    Why price floor?

     

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

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

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

     

    Price floor introduction,

    removal

     

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Arriving at price floor

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Why operators kicked

     

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

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

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

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • NCC: towards faster service, healthier competition

    The hubbub over the reinstatement of floor price on data tariff by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has calmed down substantially after the implementation that would have kicked off on December 1, 2016 was suspended. This should however not lull those of us that opposed what was erroneously interpreted as an enforced price hike into a false sense of fait accompli.

    Far from thinking that a repressive regime has been forced to beat a retreat as being celebrated by some, for the duration that the implementation of the floor price remains suspended, we should  benefit of prevailing calm to look at what the issues are especially when one would not be weighing in over a din.

    The explanation by the NCC strongly suggests that dominant players – MTN (45kobo/MB), Glo (21kobo/MB), Airtel (52kobo/MB) and with the exception of Etisalat (94kobo/MB) – are practically selling data at less than the cost price of providing the service. This present several challenges that are definitely difficult to explain to subscribers who desire affordability at any point in time. It is about the money really.

    First, if a firm continues to sell its products or services for less than the cost price it is a matter of time before it comes under financial strain that would lead to unpleasant options. For instance, when reality sets in, the same company may have to jerk up its price far above the optimal profit level which means the subscribers eventually have to pay more.

    Should a price hike not be applied that point then the company being deprived of optimal revenue would have to cut corners in ways that result in its products not meeting subscriber expectations and consequently lose them to the competition. In the likely scenario that such firm continues in the unhealthy price war it would definitely price itself out of the market bringing about one less competition for the last firm standing and a monopoly is born.

    Similarly, let us recall how expensive data used to be when only one or two of the telcos were offering data services. The price went down when the other two firms joined them. When new entrants that specialise in only data came on board the price war began in earnest. The truth here is that the new entrants (with less than three years of operation or less than 7.5 per cent market share) do not have the muscles to last long in the ring if data is sold for less than the cost price; they will fold up in a matter of time and similar fate would eventually befall the big players until the last one standing becomes the new king and a monopoly is born.

    Thirdly, assuming this anticompetitive war is allowed to go on and non of either the big players or the new entrants falls off the cart but they are unable to meet revenue target needed for expansion, we will then be forced with a scenario where it again takes us several years before our telcos can roll out infrastructure for 5G network that Deutsche Telekom and Huawei tested on the same day the price floor was to have been reinstated. We will again be forced into a situation like the current one where our telcos are hyping 4G LTE at a time their contemporaries are trialling 5G.

    Finally, subscribers of the network that already pay more than the 90kobo/MB find themselves returning to it even when they had earlier left for the cheaper offerings of its competitors. In such instance it is more about what works and not what is cheaper. Anyone that has ever been frustrated while trying to upload a CV, complete an online job application or send money for medial emergency using internet banking when the data service is lousy would appreciate that the issue is more than affordability.

  • Punish erring telcos, consumers tell NCC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Ndukwe to NCC: don’t overregulate small operators

    Ndukwe to NCC: don’t overregulate small operators

    Former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Ernest Ndukwe has warned the Commission to give small operators breathing space in the industry. He warned that overregulating the industry will inhibit its growth and development.

    Ndukwe who was one of the resource persons at this year’s Annual Consultative Forum on Engineering and Emereging Technologies organised by the NCC at Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, said the small operators should be spared some of the regulations which they are subjected to. He said any attempt to treat them like the big telcos will lead to their extinction. The theme of the forum was: Framework for Spectrum Trading in Nigeria.

    Ndukwe said small operators should be spared the payment of annual operating levy (AOL) and other such payments until they attain a certain level of stability.

    He however promised to do a short note on the areas where the regulator should loosen its regulatory noose around the throats of the small operators.

    Reacting to the suggestion of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on the imposition of tax on calls made after three minutes, he said the carriers set up their businesses  for people to make calls, wondering why they should be taxed for doing that.

    He said since Emefiele’s duty was to regulate the banking sector, he should explore  his sector for more taxation and leave the telecoms sector for the stakeholders.

    On the ripeness of the market for secondary spectrum trading, he said the time has come for it to happen.

    He however advised the NCC to ensure that spectrum is not hoarded by big operators. While not totally supporting the ‘use it or lose it’ policy, he said  there was need to place a limit to the numbers of spectrum that an operator could have at every particular point of time.

    In his welcome remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Garba Dambatta, said an effective Spectrum Management Policy was critical to support the investment required to expand mobile access. According to him, the telecoms environment is rapidly expanding and increasing demand for different data services have put considerable pressure for more spectrum by the operators to deliver services as well as enhance quality of services offered.

    He said the objectives of the Commission’s Spectrum Management Policy depends on the market circumstances, how the available spectrum is currently used, the competitiveness of the market and the risk to investment and service quality as the market grews.

    He said: “Spectrum trading is spectrum management practice that permit transfer of spectrum license rights and obligations from one party to another in various forms and scope after a commercial transaction duly approved by the Commission. It is basically a secondary mechanism of assigning spectrum with the capability of unlocking the potential of new technologies and reducing barriers to new entrants in the industry.”