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Tag: Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)

  • No registered member of ALTON was sanctioned by NCC – Chairman

    No registered member of ALTON was sanctioned by NCC – Chairman

    Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman, Association of Telecommunications of Nigeria ( ALTON ) says no current registered member of the  association is sanctioned by Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ) implicated in call masking.

    NCC on Tuesday imposed a range of sanctions on licenses of operators implicated in call masking.

    Masked calling is a technique used in e-commerce to protect and cover buyers’ and sellers’ personal phone numbers as private.

    Adebayo told our reporter on Wednesday in Abuja that his members were responsible corporate citizens who operate according to the laws.

    “We are delighted that in the report issued by NCC, there is no current registered member of our association that was involved.

    “And what it also goes to show is that our members are responsible corporate people who operate according to the laws.

    “They work according to the terms of their licenses, so the assurance we will continue to give is that as responsible association we will continue to comply with the rules of operations,’’ he said.

    Adebayo said ALTON as a responsible corporate organisation and with the  amount of investment by its members in the country suggested they had to take rules and regulations guiding their operations seriously.

    The ALTON Chairman also assured subscribers that operators would continue to provide best services.

    “As an industry that provides infrastructure for many other sub sector of the economy, we will continue to do our best to contribute to national economic  development

    “I am delighted about the report by the Bureau of Statistics on the new Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) that the number of sectors playing critical roles in the  development of the economy were supported by the telecom sector,’’ Adebayo said.

    The big players in the telecom sector such as MTN, Airtel, Globacom, Nine Mobile, are registered members of  ALTON.

    NCC barred over 750,000 numbers assigned to several Private Network Links (PNL) and Local Exchange Operator (LEO) licensees, which number ranges were found to have been utilised for the practice of call masking.

    It listed the licensees whose numbers have been barred to include Vezeti Communications Services Ltd., Voix Networks Ltd.,  Mobitel Ltd., Peace Global Satellite Communications Ltd.

    Others are ABG Communications Ltd.  Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Ltd.,  Swift Telephone Networks Ltd. QVODA Telecoms Ltd., Wireless Telecoms Ltd. Emcatel Networks Ltd.

    NAN

  • Dantata donates N100m to FUD female hostel project

    Dantata donates N100m to FUD female hostel project

    The Federal University Dutse ( FUD ), has received a donation of N100 million  for the construction of female hostel in its campus.

    The donation was made by a Kano-based business mogul, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, in Dutse.

    FUD’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Fatima Batul-Muktar, announced the donation while reviewing the achievements of the university in the last one year.

    She said, “I am pleased to inform you of the receipt of a donation of N100 million from Alhaji Aminu Dantata, for the construction of a female hostel.

    “The construction project has reached advanced level right now,” the VC said.

    Batul-Muktar added that the varsity’s Department of Public Private Partnership (DPPP), was also able to attract philanthropists to execute meaningful projects in the university.

    “Our DPPP under my watch, has been able to attract philanthropists like AA Rano, who furnished laboratories in the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Department of Forestry and Wildlife.

    “The DPPP also attracted Alhaji Abdullahi Dangogola, a Kano-based businessman who completed the construction of a Central Mosque which was initially by Engineer Abubakar Isa,’’ she said.

    According to her, the Nigerian communications Commission ( NCC ), has also constructed a Computer-Based Training Centre (CBTC) for the university.

    The VC added that the Nigerian Metrological Agency  ( NIMET ), had selected the FUD among the universities to benefit from its upgrading of Weather Station to World Metrological Agency ( WMO ), standard.

    She also pointed out that the project had commenced.

    “NITDA has also approved the deployment of its intervention project (Digital Job Creation Centre) to the university.

    “National Energy Commission is also intervening in the area of solar-powered street lights for the university,’’ the VC added.

    NAN

  • 2019: INEC seeks NCC, telecom operators collaboration

    2019: INEC seeks NCC, telecom operators collaboration

    The Independent National Commission ( INEC ) has solicited the collaboration of Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ) and telecommunications operators for deployment of electronic devices in the conduct of 2019 general elections.

    Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the appeal when he led management of the commission on a visit to NCC Executive Vice-Chairman, Prof. Umar Dambatta, on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that INEC was planning full deployment for e-collation and transmission of Ekiti and Osun governorship elections later in the year, and for the 2019 general polls.

    He said that time had come to electronically collate and transmit election results from polling units to collation and declaration centres, explaining that doing so would enable results to be transmitted faster and more accurately.

    Yakubu said that while the commission had the software and hardware to do the transmission, it needed to rely on telecommunications operators for the transmission of figures and scanned images of result sheets.

    Towards these, he appealed to NCC, as the the industry regulator, to facilitate a meeting between INEC and telecommunications operators in the country to finalise preparations for the elections.

    He said that the meeting would provide INEC with the combined network coverage map for all operators nationwide, including network strength that could help the commission to deploy e-collation system successfully.

    “Since we shall also be transmitting scanned copies of result sheets, it is imperative to ascertain areas covered by 3Gand 4G networks and by which operator(s) across the country.

    “The objective is also to discuss data security in the course of transmission of results in order to further safeguard the security of the process.

    “The meeting is also imperative to discuss the provision, registration and exclusive use of SIM Cards with special numbers for use in its Smart Card Readers.

    “These numbers should be registered in the name of INEC instead of the current practices of using cards sourced from the open market registered in the personal names of our officials.

    “This will help in the management of database and dataset of the allocated numbers.

    “Doing so will also enable the encryption of information thereby providing additional security in the course of transmitting both data and images,’’ he said.

    Yakubu also called on NCC to facilitate discussion with the operators on ways to enhance cooperate social responsibility to Nigeria electoral process, especially on voter education and publicity.

    “Towards the 2019 general elections, we would like the operators, in collaboration with INEC, to send bulk SMS on imperative of peaceful elections, the collection of Permanent Voter Cards by registered voters.”

    He also called for synergy on directional information on the location of Polling Units for easy access to voters.

    In his response, Dambatta expressed NCC’s reediness to be at the forefront of driving innovations that would improve the electoral process in the country.

    He said that the commission was committed to ensuring and promoting free, fair and credible elections in the country, especially from 2019.

    Dambatta added with ICT there was no need to be at election venue before election could be monitored, saying that today’s telecommunications had made nonsense of distance.

    He assured that there was availability of telecom infrastructure, including 3G networks that would facilitates e-collation and transmission of election results.

    “We will bring to bear our wealth of Information and Communications Technology ( ICT ) and telecoms expertise in 2019 general elections to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

    “This is what we can achieve in 2019,’’ he said, adding that coming together by INEC, NCC and telecom companies to discuss would help to overcome some of the envisaged challenges.”

    He added that there was no better time than now to commence voter education and publicity ahead of the 2019 elections.

    NAN

  • 9mobile biggest losers as Internet users hit 94.8 million in November – NCC

    9mobile biggest losers as Internet users hit 94.8 million in November – NCC

    The internet users increased marginally to 94 .8 million in November, the Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ), has said.

    The NCC made this disclosure in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for November 2017 on its website on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Glo gained more internet subscribers during the month, while 9mobile was the big loser.

    The data also showed that overall, internet users increased by to 94, 818,553 in November from 93,887,184 in October showing an increase of 931, 369.

    The data breakdown revealed that MTN gained 428, 596 new internet users increasing its subscription in November to 33,426,931 from 32,998,335 in October.

    It showed that 9mobile lost 180, 044 internet users in November decreasing its subscription to 11,407.180 as against October when it recorded 11,587,224 in October.

    It said Airtel gained the most with 632, 506 new internet users in November amounting to 23, 074,163 users as against 22,441,657 users in October.

    The data showed that Globacom also gained 50,311new users in November as the figure recorded was 26,910,279 as against 26,859,968 it had in October.

    Read Also: NCC gives out N17m to winners of tennis championship

    NAN

  • porting activities decline to 19,419 in Oct – NCC

    porting activities decline to 19,419 in Oct – NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Saturday said that the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) activities carried out by telecommunications operators decreased to 19,419 in October.

    The regulatory body made this known in its “Incoming and Outgoing Porting Activities of Mobile Network Operators Report’’ posted on its website.

    The commission said, in the report, that 33,514 subscribers ported within the networks in September, hence, a decrease of 14,095 activities in October.

    It further said that of the 19,419 porting activities in October, 9,713 were “Incoming Porting Activities”, while 9,706 were “Outgoing Porting Activities”.
    It said that in the outgoing table, 1,432 subscribers moved from Airtel Nigeria to other networks through MNP in October.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that users that left Airtel’s network decreased by 3,408, as against 4,840 customers that deserted the network in September.

    NCC said that in the month of October, 2,777 customers moved from MTN Nigeria, showing a decrease of 1,848 subscribers, against 4,625 that left the service provider in September.

    Also, 2,409 subscribers moved from Globacom Nigeria in October, representing a decrease of 1,905 customers that left the network, as against 4,314 that left in September.

    It noted that 2,926 customers of 9mobile ported to other networks within the same period, an increase of 162, when compared with 3,088 users that left in September.
    In the incoming table, 9mobile led with an additional 4,579 customers joining its network in October.

    MTN Nigeria came second on the gainers’ list with 2,394 subscribers; 1,978 subscribers moved to Airtel Nigeria, while Globacom Nigeria got 762 customers.
    The report shows that in spite of the loan repayment challenge faced by Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile), telecommunications users still have confidence in the network, hence, moving to its services.

    NAN reports that the MNP was flagged off on April 22, 2013 by NCC, with the aim of deepening competition in the industry. (

  • NATCOMS seek 30 days grace for data roll over

    NATCOMS seek 30 days grace for data roll over

    The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to extend the grace period of unused data roll over to 30 days.

    The President of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

    NAN reports that NCC is planning to issue a directive to telecommunications operators to give 14 days window to subscribers to enable them to roll over their unused data.

    Ogunbanjo, while describing the idea of 14 days as a welcome development, said that it was not enough considering the present economic situation as subscribers were not getting value for their money with regard to data usage.

    “NCC should give at least 30 days grace instead of 14 days, because of the recent economic situation.

    “One may also have pressing needs or competing demands in the family and may not have money to subscribe within the 14 days period,” the NATCOMS president said.

    “The grace period for voice recharge is 90 days, hence, data subscription should not be different.’’

    NAN also reports that the Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said that subscribers would be given the 14 days grace, even if they do not renew on the date of data expiration.

    Danbatta said that this would stop the present practice where subscribers would lose the entire unused data, if they failed to renew on the date of expiration of the present subscription.

    According to him, NCC recognises that telecommunications services are very important to the nation’s development.

    “NCC also recognises more importantly, that the consumers of telecommunications services deserve to get value for their money.

    “NCC also recognises that consumer should be treated as a very important stakeholder in the scheme of things, as far as service delivery is concern.

    “Let me recall that in the eight points agenda of my administration, the issue of empowerment and protection of consumers occupied the sixth position.

    “The vision in this agenda is to protect consumers from unfair practices through availability of information and education to make informed choices in the use of ICT services,” he said. (NAN)

  • NCC seeks govs’ assistance on broadband penetration

    NCC seeks govs’ assistance on broadband penetration

    The Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ) has called on state governors to assist it in achieving the 30 per cent broadband penetration target by 2018.

    The Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, made the call during an interview with newsmen in Lagos, on the sideline of the 2017 Dinner and Awards of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations ( NIPR ).

    Ojobo was awarded the “PR Personality of the year 2017” by NIPR.

    He said that the governors and their various agencies should assist by ensuring easy approval for Right of Way ( RoW ) for the deployment of infrastructure.

    According to him, the industry has challenges of deployment of base stations in the states because of the issue of the Internally Generated Revenue ( IGR ).

    “A lot of approvals are delayed, in terms of siting base stations in the states this year. We have had base stations shut down, we also have had issues with the Rights of Way.

    “There had been reluctance with the various agencies under various levels of government to give approval as quickly as possible for the deployment of infrastructure.

    “The Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, has made a presentation at the Governors Forum on how these challenges are actually contributing to the poor quality of service, and that there is need for us to have pervasive rollout of base stations.

    “Pervasive base stations deployment can narrow the areas that don’t have coverage, so that the issue of access and broadband penetration target can be realised.

    “Unless we do that, we will keep having challenges in being able to meet with the government policy of 30 per cent by 2018,” he said.

    Read also: NCC gives out N17m to winners of tennis championship

    Ojobo said that by 2018, it was expected that the country would have 30 per cent broadband penetration, but some of the challenges were slowing down the process.

    “But we believe that in 2018, some of these challenges will be tackled, especially as governors are beginning to appreciate the importance of these infrastructure in their states.

    “We believe that these challenges will begin to fizzle out,” he said.

    On his award as the PR Personality of the year, Ojobo said it was a call to do more on his responsibilities.

    He said that NCC would continue to put what it was doing on the public space and improve on it.

    “We will make sure that we say it as it is all the time and also ensure that we take back the feedback we get from the people we serve, that is our stakeholders, to our management.

    “This is so that areas that need improvement will be improved upon, so that consumers and the generous stakeholders will be better for it.

    “I want to thank God for this award. It is humbling when you are recognised by your professional group for contributions to the professional practice of public relations in Nigeria.

    “I dedicate this award to God and to the Nigerian Communications Commission that has given me the platform to express, in terms of the ways I carry out my responsibilities,” he said.

    Ojobo said that NCC was regulating an industry that was very difficult, an industry that was serving about 153 million active subscribers.

    He said that the subscribers were utilising the services on a 24/7 basis, hence, there were always issues to talk about.

    According to him, the challenge has been how to talk to the people who are facing challenges because of the services they are receiving.

    “We can’t tell them there are no challenges, we can’t assume we have not seen that they have problems.

    “But what we have continued to do is to identify with the challenges they are going through in this industry.

    “We have also tried to communicate that the industry is a work in progress, we have not gotten to the place we should be.

    “The most challenging part of this job is when we are having issues in the industry and how to address those issues and still speak the truth to the people,” he said.

    Ojobo said that the commission had used all its platforms, both the social media platforms and the mainstream media in trying to communicate, to make the people know what it was doing.

    NAN

  • NCC seeks partnership of advocacy groups on toll-free 622 line

    NCC seeks partnership of advocacy groups on toll-free 622 line

    The Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ) is seeking the partnership of consumers advocacy groups to increase consumers’ awareness of its 622 toll free line.

    Mr Abdullahi Maikano, its Director (Consumer Affairs Bureau), made the call in Lagos during the Fourth Quarter Meeting/Open Forum of the Industry Consumer Advocacy Forum (ICAF).

    The theme of the forum was ”Telecoms Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress Mechanism”.

    Maikano said that the 622 toll free line is the number consumers could call to seek redress for their complaints on products and services of telecommunications operators.

    He said that the consumers advocacy groups should help to ensure that consumers were aware and utilise the toll free line to resolve issues.

    According to him, the telecommunications industry is the most regulated in the country where every operator has customer centre to resolve consumers’ issues.

    “NCC is doing what it can to ensure that consumers are aware of the toll free line, 622.

    “The consumers advocacy groups should help to collect complaints from consumers and take them to the operators; if the operators are not resolving them, then they should bring the issues to NCC,” he said.

    Prof. Felicia Monye, the President of ICAF, said that the ability of consumers to seek and obtain redress was the hallmark of any consumer protection system.

    Monye said that for consumers to enjoy their positions as kings, they must arm themselves with the knowledge to enforce their rights.

    “In other words, they must know their rights under the law. They must also know their obligations because rights and obligations are reciprocal.

    “The importance of effective consumer redress cannot be over-emphasised. If there is no effective redress mechanism, there is no consumer protection.

    “In this case, consumer protection will remain within the domain of regulators and suppliers of products and services,” she said.

    According to her, ICAF is set to empower consumers with the knowledge to seek redress and serve as active drivers of the telecommunications sector in Nigeria.

    Mrs Oluwaleke Ogundipe, the Director, Surveillance and Enforcement of the Consumer Protection Council ( CPC ), said that apart from providing redress to aggrieved consumers, the best redress would come from the consumers’ understanding of their rights.

    Ogundipe said that an informed consumer would know his rights, demand them and probably receive redress without recourse to regulatory agencies.

    She said that continuous sensitisation of consumers was necessary in the complaint redress process.

    NAN

  • President Buhari updated on 2017 Hajj, NCC activities

    President Buhari updated on 2017 Hajj, NCC activities

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday received briefing on 2017 Hajj operation from the Executive Chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria ( NAHCON ), Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar.

    Mukhtar, however, declined to speak with State House correspondents after the briefing.

    The NAHCON boss also briefed the president on preparations for smooth conduct of 2018 Hajj.

    Mukhtar had on Sept. 14 at an interactive session and dinner with members of the 2017 Hajj Media Team in Makkah, disclosed that NAHCON had commenced preparations for 2018 Hajj.

    He said that the commission had already sent a team, headed by the Consul General, to negotiate price of accommodation in Madinah to ensure that Nigerian pilgrims were
    lodged close to the Prophet’s Mosque.

    He said: “To this end, the Commission has sent a delegation to Madina to prepare ground for negotiation of a comprehensive package for pilgrims.”

    The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sen. Olabiyi Durojaiye, also briefed President Buhari on activities of the commission.

    NAN

  • Broadband penetration: NCC plans new spectrum auctions

    Broadband penetration: NCC plans new spectrum auctions

    The Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC ) says it will soon auction and assignment new spectrums to boost broadband penetration in the country.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta made this known in Lagos during the Telecom Executives and Regulator Forum, organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

    The theme of the forum is: “Removing Barriers To Growth And Innovation”.

    Represented by the Deputy Director, NCC Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Mr Bako Wakili, Danbatta said that spectrum was a critical mobile infrastructure.

    He said that the commission would strive to provide the required frequency spectrum capacity needed for broadband deployment.

    According to him, the process for new spectrum auctions and assignments to drive mobile and wireless broadband is ongoing.

    “The commission will facilitate the re-farming of existing spectrum held by operators to provide broadband services without impacting their Quality of Service (QoS) delivery.

    “We will auction the 2.5/2.6 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum for Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) capacity requirements.

    “The commission will also auction the 700 Megahertz (MHz) band once available, for 4G LTE coverage requirements and will open up and assign other spectrum bands in an open and transparent manner,” he said.

    Danbatta said that according to the Nigerian Broadband Plan, Broadband within the Nigerian context was defined as an internet experience where the user could access the most demanding content in real time, at a minimum speed of 1.5 megabit per second.

    According to him, broadband also means high-capacity networks that can deliver very large amounts of information simultaneously, as a result, they can deliver voice, data and video all at the same time.

    “The broadband industry ecosystem comprises of government policies and programmes, regulatory frameworks and environment, then the supply and demand sides of the services.

    “The industry is currently seeing the trend of increasing use of data enabled devices such as smartphones, dongles, MiFis, among others.

    “With pervasive voice services objective largely achieved, the operators now focus on growth of data services and provision of optimal QoS delivery,” he said.

    Danbatta said that the current status of broadband infrastructure in Nigeria showed that there was adequate international bandwidth from International submarine cable landing on the country’s shores.

    He said that optimal deployment of broadband infrastructures was critical to driving broadband availability, accessibility and affordability in Nigeria.

    According to him, the availability of broadband infrastructure will unlock new opportunities and drive a second wave of growth in the telecommunications industry and the economy.

    He said that broadband was a productivity enabling technology and its penetration rate was 21 per cent as at February 2017.

    Danbatta said the commission was optimistic towards achieving the 30 per cent broadband penetration target by 2018.

    NAN