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Tag: NCC

  • 129m Nigerians are active GSM subscribers, says NCC

    129m Nigerians are active GSM subscribers, says NCC

    The Chairman of Board of the Nigeria Communications Commission Engr. Peter Igho has said that Nigeria has 129 million active subscribers while over 50 million Nigerians have access to the internet.

    He said that the tele- density is 92% and still increasing almost on daily basis which shows that the people of the country have fully embrace the new telecommunication with internet services that has brought the world closer to them.

    Speaking during a call on Governor Theodore Orji in Umuahia, Mr. Igho explained that telecommunications contributes to 8.5 % of the nations GDP and has transformed the way of doing things in the country.

    Igho said that his commission is making effort to improve the quality of telecom services to Nigerians through proper monitoring of the activities of service providers, adding that almost everything in the country is now being done through telecom.

    He however identified multiple-taxation and hindering of the right of way and vandalization of ICT facilities as some of the factors that militate against improved service, pointing out that the commission is currently pushing for a law to classify telecommunications facilities as critical infrastructure.

    The board chairman disclosed that NCC has given ICT equipment to 38 secondary schools in the state among other items given to tertiary institutions in Abia and appealed to the Governor to partner with his commission to improve the quality of service to the people.

  • NCC launches e-registration

    Piracy constitutes a serious threat to the sustenance of the creative industries. As a result of this, the creative people who have channelled their energy, time and money into producing best quality sound recordings, films, books, sculptures, computer programmes and broadcast suffer huge losses in revenue accruable from their production.

    This, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) says must stop. Its Director General, Mr Afam Ezekude, stated this at the launch of the commission’s electronic registration system.

    The registration exercise, known as the Nigerian Electronic Copyright System (NeCRS) is meant to provide wider platform for easy access to copyright authors and members of the public and put end to piracy in the country.

    He said: “The Nigerian e-Copyright registration system which is the first in Africa offers an avenue to upscale the existing data collection initiative of the commission in line with our statutory mandate, provide more efficient services and wider access to our database.”

    Mr Ezekude promised that the commission will continue to explore every opportunity at its disposal to enhance the protection of copyright works in the country.

    “We will continue to evolve more innovative strategies to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our copyright regime in line with our vision of harnessing creativity for national development,” he said.

    The DG warned that pirates who continue to perpetuate illegal acts should be ready to face the wrath of the law.

    “I want to use this opportunity to warn those who are still engaged in illegal acts against copyright works that the days of free-riding are over. Nigeria cannot afford to carry the toga of a nation of pirates as it grapples with the arduous task of transforming the fortunes of its citizenry,” he said.

    Launching the NeCRS, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Muhamed Adoke, who was represented by Mrs Victoria Mbu, said the system will obviate some of the challenges confronting the analogue process of registration in the country.

    “It is obvious that it will obviate one of the serious challenges of analogue processes of record management which is ease of maintainace and retrieval of information,” he said, adding that the e-registration will enhance protection of rights of Nigerian authors and afford them opportunity of global accessibility.

    “It also has the potentials of exposing their works to global attention, thereby giving them the opportunity of earning revenue in foreign exchange, from exploitation of these works,” he said.

  • ‘179,000 subscribers successfully ported’

    ‘179,000 subscribers successfully ported’

    About 179,000 subscribers have successfully ported since the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability scheme in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

    The scheme, which was introduced in April, last year, is aimed at enabling telecom subscribers choose the networks that can provide them with the most effective services.

    NCC’s Director of Public Affairs Tony Ojobo gave the figure at the weekend at the prize-giving ceremony of the agency’s national essay competition, titled: The Effect of Mobile Number Portability on Telecom Service and Usage in Nigeria.

    Ojobo said the scheme had deepened competition among service providers and led to innovative services.

    The spokesman said the scheme also enthroned the consumer as the king in the marketplace.

  • NCC urges Customs to stop substandard phones’ import

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged men of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to tackle the influx of fake and substandard mobile phones into the country.

    Speaking in Lagos, its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Eugene Juwah said the duties of the regulator do not extend to monitoring the importation of mobile phones, but type-approving and placing the list of the type-approved mobile phones on its website and availing the NCS of a copy too.

    According to him, the issue of fake/substandard mobile phones is complex as the phones find their ways into the country through the various entry points.

    Experts have argued that aside factors, such as base transmission station (BTS) and metropolitan optic fibre cable (OFC) vandalism, the quality of service (QoS) problem in the country has been associated with interference arising from low and substandard mobile phones.

    He said: “Well, on the issue of phones, it is very difficult. We don’t control the import of phones. All sorts of phones come into the country.

    “NCC has always been in talks, discussion and information sharing with the Customs Service and it is really their duty (to stop unbridled importation of mobile phones). They have our list of approved phones but phones come through smuggling and other means. You have to bear that in mind. A lot of the cheaper phones come through smuggling. The bigger phones such as Apple phones come through specific distributors and they come to the customs too. The small phones can contribute to the issue of QoS because they are not approved, they are not well manufactured and they come from the grey markets into Nigeria

    “We have on our website, a set of approved phones and I think the NCS has them too. So the entry point in Nigeria should control phones. NCC cannot go from individual to individuals asking them: ‘Which phone are you using?’ and confiscating them (if they are discovered to be fake/substandard). So that is the issue of interference that comes from the quality of phones.”

    Juwah said the QoS issue is a complex web of issues ranging from multiple taxation/regulation to criminal invasion of BTS by unscrupulous elements and even agencies of government to shut them.

    Arguing that the QoS in the country is not the worst, he said the NCC  sanctions the operators to keep them on their feet, insisting that if the telcos meet the minimum key performance indicators (KPIs), the experience on the network will be better than it is.

    He urged the telcos to plough substantial part of their earnings into expanding the network so that the problem of congestion will become a thing of the past.

    Juwah said the QoS of telcos is far better than that of both the banking industry and the power sector.

    He said: “Telecoms sector QoS is better than that of the power sector. Can you talk about power? We want an improvement in service. That is why we sanction operators. We want an improvement in service, so we have mandated minimum standard. If they achieve this minimum standard, everybody will be happy. When the fail to achieve this, we penalise them.”

  • NCC clears coast for telcos’ listing on stock exchange

    NCC clears coast for telcos’ listing on stock exchange

    Regulator of the telecom sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the weekend, cleared the coast for telcos in the country to take their business to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for listing.

    The Commission unveiled a 31-page document titled: Code of Corporate Governance the Telecommunications Industry 2014, arguing that it embodies time-honoured virtues of accountability, responsibility and integrity that will ensure sustainable growth for the industry. The sector has achieved subscriber figures above 130 million and $35 billion in direct foreign investment (FDI) into the economy.

    Absence of a corporate governance code in place has been identified as one of the factors responsible for the reluctnace of the telcos to list of the NSE.

    Already three of the telcos: MTN, Airtel and Etisalat are already listed in Johannesburg, Abu Dubai Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, India respectively but they could also cross list on the NSE too. Onlt Globacom, a wholly indigenous operator with footprints in other African countries is not listed a any stock exchange.

    Presenting the document, NCC’s Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah, said the combined factors of the strategic importance of telecommunications and unprecedented growth of the sector with extensive reach across all social and demographic groups in the economy makes it imperative that operators in this critical sector align to uphold a code of corporate governance which is specific to the industry.

    He said corporate governance codes globally could take several forms, some are generic or national in scope while others are drawn up for specific groups of firms (sector specific) or designed to address a specific aspect of corporate governance such as board practices, transparency and disclosure standards.

    He said national codes of corporate governance are typically focused on country-specific issues and are aimed at improving and guiding governance practices within a country’s specific legal environment and business context, sector-specific corporate governance codes on the other hand address the specific peculiarities of the affected sector (in Nigeria’s case, telecommunications) that are not typically dealt with under national or broadly-aimed codes.

    He said with the growing relevance of corporate governance beyond capital markets where compliance with best practice is enforced through listing rules, sector-specific codes have become increasingly more beneficial in those sectors where private unlisted firms operate.

    He said: “Recognised corporate governance principles of accountability, responsibility, transparency, integrity and ethical conduct, independence and others are important for all types of companies operating in the telecommunications industry whether public or private, large or small as the requirement for good corporate governance does not wane on account of size or type of business affiliation.”

    Juwah recalled that the journey to getting the code began June last year when the NCC organised the second stakeholders’ consultation on Corporate Governance with Enhancing Stakeholders Responsibility as it theme, adding that the first was consultation was in April of 2012 with Corporate Governance on the Telecommunications Industry-Compliance with Standards, Processes and Procedures as its theme.

  • Reps pass NCC’s N54.4b 2014 budget

    Reps pass NCC’s N54.4b 2014 budget

    The 2014 Appropriation bill of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday scaled through second reading stage in House of Representatives.

    The bill which was presented on the floor by the Leader of the House, Hon. Mulikat Akande- Adeola was unanimously passed when its Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha called for a vote.

    The bill is for an Act to authorise the issue from the Statutory Revenue Fund of the NCC the total sum of N54,443,967,000

    Of the amount, N14,823,226,000 is for recurrent expenditure and N7,359,320,000 is for transfer to the Federal Government, while the the sum of N8,400,000,000 is for transfer to the Universal Service Fund (USPF).

    An additional sum of N8,012,778,000 is expected to be transferred from reserves and the balance of N15,847,743,000 is for capital and special projects for the year ending December 31 this year.

    Also yesterday, the House mandated its Committee on Customs to liaise with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to work out modalities to curb the activities of smugglers and tender its report within four weeks.

    This was sequel to the adoption of the prayers of a motion brought before the House by Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun Dokun who noted that not much is being done by NCS to curb the activities of the smugglers and the sale of prohibited goods within the country.

    He said: “The Nigerian borders have become so porous that palm oil and other consumables are easily smuggled into the country through the neighbouring countries, thus affecting the marketability of locally produced palm oil and other consumables.

    “The rate at which rice and other food items are being smuggled into the country through various borders is so high that Nigeria has lost so much revenue as a result of the compromising activities of certain Customs officers.”

    The bill was passed after members voted in its favour.

  • NCC begins selection of Infracos for broadband provision

    NCC begins selection of Infracos for broadband provision

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has extended invitation to Infrastructure Companies (Infracos) to submit bids for the first phase of its Open Access Broadband designed to make broadband access available across the country at affordable rate.

    According to the plan, seven Infracos will be licensed for the programme. While one would serve each of the six geo-political zones of the country, one will serve Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.

    In the notice of invitation to interested bidders, its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO,  Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the Infracos would be expected to deploy metropolitan optic fibre cable (OFC) infrastructure and associated transmission equipment in Lagos State and North Central zone on an open access, non-discriminatory, price regulated basis.

    He explained that the Open Access Model adopted by the Commission “has been examined and considered as a strategic means for the deployment of optic fibre backbone transmission infrastructure network in Nigeria that will bridge the current broadband gap, facilitate the development of local content and deliver cost effective services to households and businesses.”

    According to the EVC, it is envisaged to address the challenges of fibre deployment in towns and cities, promote infrastructure sharing, reduce Right of Way issues and transform the beneficiary states to smart states, amongst others. Dr. Juwah also informed that competent companies, consortium of which at least one of the consortium members must be a Nigerian registered company or firms including those who had earlier expressed interest are invited to submit tender for consideration.

    Dr. Juwah had recently told the Senate Committee about the planned commencement of the full scale implementation of the broadband expansion programme after full consultations with the industry and the international community, including the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, which has supported the Commission in the implementation of the programme that will be very transparent with the application of international best practice.

    In the bid document for the selection process and criteria which is available on the NCC website, the submission of bids from interested companies will end on August 4, 2014.

  • Broadband will spur economic development, says NCC chief

    Regulator of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the provision of affordable, reliable and ubiquitous broadband across the country will spur economic growth and significantly grow the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    Its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Eugene Juwah said broadband deployment will redefine everything, ranging from education, health, agriculture and even entertainment.

    He said: “The catalytic role and contribution of broadband services to an economy is well documented. The economic impact of broadband is positive as shown from studies of the World Bank which showed that every 10 per cent points increase in broadband penetration leads to a 1.38 per cent growth in GDP. The impact of broadband penetration on national development is immense. Some of the positive economic impact of broadband can be seen in entertainment, agriculture, commerce, education and energy management.”

    According to him, Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry has been ranked third in size only behind the United States (US) Hollywood and India’s Bollywood, adding that the largest consumer demands for bandwidth are coming from music, movies, videos, TV shows and radio content downloads.

    “The demand to download video content, such as a movie or TV show, within a short timeframe requires significant bandwidth. With the availability of broadband access, another means for entertainment businesses to distribute their content and provide access to users becomes possible. This greatly expands the reach for entertainment businesses and broadcasters to reach their target audiences anywhere in the world,” Juwah said during the inauguration of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) in Lagos.

    According to the EVC, broadband access provides agriculture businesses the means to get relevant and timely information on weather updates, since the quality of crops and other tasks depend in large part on weather. He said the proper timing of planting activities in line with favourable weather conditions often promotes high yield while fast online access to websites that share best practices makes it possible for farmers to learn about farming management practices.

    He said: “The potential market for the produce from agric based businesses increases dramatically with access to broadband access, where different content depicting the produce available in these businesses can be marketed online. Also, information on the availability of livestock and seed crops can be assessed on-line. Also farmers who use broadband to access pricing information online are likely to gain bargaining power and make more educated marketing or purchasing decisions.”

    He said the growing levels of internet access and continued rollout of broadband infrastructure are driving the growth of e-commerce and m-commerce. Broadband is the information super highway of the 21st century that is accelerating global commerce at a rate never imagined before.

    He said: “An online presence increases the ability for businesses to be found, regardless of their physical location; and enables commerce to occur without having to physically visit the business premises. This enables businesses to be seen in different parts of the world without having to be physically present in the different locations. This saves businesses costs for space rental, maintenance of infrastructures etc at the physical locations it would have had to operate from without broadband and internet presence.”

  • NCC’s ban on MTN, Airtel, Glo remains, says Commissioner

    NCC’s ban on MTN, Airtel, Glo remains, says Commissioner

    The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has said the ban it imposed on three major telecoms firms for failing to meet key performance indicators (KPI) remains in force.

    Speaking through its Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Okwchukwu Itanyi, in Lagos at the weekend, the regulator said it was irrevocably committed to using its regulatory powers to ensure that operators do the needful so that subscribers could enjoy the full value of their money.

    In February, the regulator imposed a fine of N467million on Airtel, MTN and Globacom. It barred them from taking in new subscriber identity modules (SIMs) for one month so that they could put some measures in place. But the one month has since elapsed without any official statement from the regulator concerning whether it has been lifted or not.

    Itanyi said the ban has been extended. “The ban on the sale of new SIM cards is on. We have not lifted the ban. (If the operators are still selling) it is something that we will investigate and if any of them is found to have fallen short of our regulation, it is something we can sanction them for.  It was for a month and we extended it. We have not lifted that sanction. It is still on,” he said on the sideline of CyberAfrica Awards night held at Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja where the regulator bagged two awards.

    On the efficacy of fines, he said it is one way of allowing the operators to know that the regulator is dissatisfied with the standard of the services they render to Nigerians.

    He said: “Basically, the fines are to put the operators on their toes. We are not happy with the standard of the services they are giving to Nigerians. There are KPIs and whenever they fall short, we have to sanction them by imposing fine. The fine is meant to put them on notice; we are also talking to the operators because part of the problem is that their network cannot carry the traffick of the customers available on their network. So, we are trying to ensure that they improve their network.”

    The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said the sanction will make the affected operators to do more to meet the parameters set down by the regulator.

    Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo said as responsible corporate citizens, the affected operators  have complied with the regulator’s directive.

    He said: “As responsible operators, those affected complied with the directive of the NCC as it were. NCC gave some conditions precedent to lifting the ban and we are hoping that in their next review in terms of QoS and other parameters, the NCC will consider lifting the ban, they will find reason to lift the ban, by the time the next measurement is done, I am hopeful.

    “In terms of its impact on business, I think for the affected players, it is an opportunity for them to go back in-house see what efficiency measures to put in place in order to comply with the directive of the regulator. So, the consideration is not in terms of income or loss of business but putting in efficiency in the interest of the subscribers.

    “In essence, we are not counting losses on this account we are rather looking at the efficiency that can be put in place  So, we are not counting losses.”

  • End in sight to COSON-BON-IBAN crisis –Tony Okoroji

    End in sight to COSON-BON-IBAN crisis –Tony Okoroji

    THE chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji, has said that the crisis rocking the music and broadcasting industries in Nigeria over the payment of the copyright royalties in the last quarter of 2013 may soon be over.

    While addressing some musicians at the COSON Headquarters in Lagos, Okoroji said that a lot of progress had been made in the negotiation to break the deadlock between COSON and the broadcasting industry.

    Okoroji, who had led the COSON team to the negotiations moderated by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) with the support of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), said: “Not for one minute have we forgotten that we represent the music industry and that we must represent the industry forcefully. What we say or do will have far-reaching impacts on the music industry in Nigeria for years to come. On the other hand, we are citizens of Nigeria and must search for that which is best for our country over the long run. We do not want to kill the broadcast industry, but to work with it.

    “What erupted as a major crisis may, indeed, turn out to be the proverbial blessing in disguise for our country. For many years, Nigeria has run away from addressing this problem, which has frustrated many and driven important investments out of our nation. There are many who had given up, believing that this problem will never be solved. Finally, we are sitting on the same table with the broadcast industry and important issues that affect both our music and broadcast industries are being ironed out.”

    On the progress made in the on-going negotiations, he said: “Contrary to the propaganda in some quarters, COSON is and has always been open to negotiations. We are very responsible and sensitive to the challenges faced by users of music. We put all of that into considerations when negotiating copyright royalty fees. The case is not different with the broadcast industry. We are still involved in a series of negotiations and I am certain that at the end of the day, all parties involved will be satisfied that we have solved a huge problem that has bedevilled our country.

    It will be recalled that in 2013, COSON instituted back-to-back multi-million naira law suits against some of Nigeria’s biggest broadcast stations, including AIT, Ray Power, STV, Rhythm FM, Beat FM, Classic FM, Naija FM, Smooth FM, Brila FM, etc, with a threat to sue many more broadcast stations. In response, the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) and Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN) had announced the suspension of the broadcast of the music of nearly all the topmost musicians in Nigeria, all of them members of COSON on radio and TV stations across Nigeria. This resulted in massive public outrage across the country followed by an all-out media war between the music and broadcast industries. It took a major public pronouncement by the NBC at the beginning of 2014, which set up the COSON/BON/IBAN/NBC/NCC Joint Committee, for tempers to abate and the on-going negotiations commenced.