The Nation Newspaper

Tag: telecoms

  • ‘Regulatory stability grew telecoms sector’

    The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, yesterday said the regulatory stability enhanced by President Muhammadu Buhari-led adminsitration has accelerated the growth of the telecoms sector.

    Danbatta, in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Mr Nnamdi Nwokike, congratulated Buhari on his re-election and extolled his virtues, adding that the victory was a reward for his selfless service to the nation.

    He said the Commission has, in the last four years, received the support of the president, which helped not only in reasserting its regulatory independence, but also making it a global household name in the area of regulatory excellence, and operational efficiency.

    The country had surpassed its national broadband penetration target of 30 per cent, as 31.48 per cent penetration was attained at the end of December last year.

    The broadband penetration figure was 8.5 per cent when Buhari took over the mantle of leadership of the country and appointed Prof Danbatta as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NCC in August, 2015.

  • ‘Fixation with telecoms affecting other sectors’

    Telecoms firms operating in the country have blamed over-concentration of attention of consumers on the telecoms sector for the poor performance of other sectors of the economy in the provision of world class services.

    Their umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), urged members of the public to also encourage other service providers such as those in power, banking, aviation, transportation and others to deliver services at the same global standards being demanded from the telecoms industry.

    Chairman of the association, Gbenga Adebayo, said: “It just may be that the over-concentration of attention on the telecoms sector is one of the reasons why these sectors continue to take consumers for granted, providing services below par.”

    Adebayo, who was reacting to the editorial of one of the national dailies which he said, displayed a lack of understanding of the industry, said the sector remained one of the best regulated (if not over-regulated) sector when compared with other sectors of the economy. He said to its credit, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the leadership of Prof Umar Dambatta  has been a champion of regulatory best practice, which emphasises proactive approach to issues; rather than playing to the gallery by imposing draconian sanctions as the piece seemed to have advocated.

    He said: “In fact, the NCC has in several cases imposed heavy sanctions on our members for infractions. While ALTON often disagrees with the NCC on some of these sanctions, it would be unfair for anyone to suggest that the Commission has been lax or overly accommodating of breaches of any kind.

    “We are also deeply concerned that although the challenges faced by telecoms operators in Nigeria were highlighted, it unfairly down-played the effect of these challenges on service provision.

    “It is on record that in 2001 when the industry was liberalised, many global players shunned the opportunity because of dearth of supporting infrastructure. Those who eventually took up the licences paid as high as $285million for each licence on the assurance that the licence fees would be used to build and/or improve supporting infrastructure, particularly power and transmission networks. Eighteen years after, operators are still left to self-provide power, transmission, security and other supporting infrastructure which are taken for granted in other jurisdictions. Telecoms operators spend over N30 billion on diesel per annum, which is one of the highest usage in the country today. This, to us, should be of concern to any serious telecom sector analyst.”

    According to Adebayo, it is also rather disturbing that the issues of Right of Way (RoW), multiple taxation, vandalism of infrastructure, accessibility issues and shutting down of telecom infrastructure were identified but described as “weak arguments” for poor performance.

    “In the first place, we make bold to state that the quality of telecoms services in Nigeria is amongst the best in comparable jurisdictions, despite the challenges our members face in their day-to-day operations. Secondly, it is remarkable that despite the extremely high cost of providing services in Nigeria, the telecoms industry is the only sector where charges have been stable (even falling). Our members daily do battle the state, local government agencies which aggressively harass them to pay both legitimate and illegitimate taxes and levies which runs to several million naira in some cases, they daily  contend with high costs of diesel, frequent theft of equipment, etc. without increasing tariffs. It is on record that the cost of building one BTS site in Nigeria will build three similar structures in Ghana.

    “Despite all these, our subscribers pay far less tariffs per minute than they paid five years ago, and data charges have continued to fall over the years as we struggle to democratise access to life-changing telecoms services. Indeed, we challenge them to name any other service that has resisted inflationary trends as telecoms service. Not even the price of pure water has been as stable as telecoms services. ALTON members and the industry regulator deserve commendation for this feat, not scurrilous condemnation,” Adebayo said.

    ALTON, he said agrees that there are service quality and ethical concerns in some segments of the telecoms industry.

    He said: “We assure that our members are assiduously working with the regulator and other stakeholders to tackle these concerns in the best interests of our subscribers. However, it would be most unfair to downplay the impact of service ecosystem issues as the piece sought to do. Demanding world class services without championing holistic improvements in supporting infrastructure which directly impact the quality of such services is rather cheap and disingenuous. When the Kogi State government recently shut down about 20 BTS in that state, over 150 other base stations in at least nine states and the FCT were affected and subscribers in these states suffered serious service disruptions. The loss to both the operators and Nigeria would be difficult to quantify. In how many other countries do operators have to grapple with this kind of problems?”

    He solicited the support of all the critical stakeholders in the country to ALTON and the NCC in efforts to drive awareness amongst federal, state and local government officials on the need to protect telecoms infrastructure in the same way power, security and other infrastructure are protected in the country. This is the only way to guarantee improved services, he insisted.

  • ‘Fixation with telecoms affecting other sectors’

    Telecoms firms operating in the country have blamed over-concentration of attention of consumers on the telecoms sector for the poor performance of other sectors of the economy in the provision of world class services.

    Their umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), urged members of the public to also encourage other service providers such as those in power, banking, aviation, transportation and others to deliver services at the same global standards being demanded from the telecoms industry.

    Chairman of the association, Gbenga Adebayo, said: “It just may be that the over-concentration of attention on the telecoms sector is one of the reasons why these sectors continue to take consumers for granted, providing services below par.”

    Adebayo, who was reacting to the editorial of one of the national dailies which he said, displayed a lack of understanding of the industry, said the sector remained one of the best regulated (if not over-regulated) sector when compared with other sectors of the economy. He said to its credit, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the leadership of Prof Umar Dambatta  has been a champion of regulatory best practice, which emphasises proactive approach to issues; rather than playing to the gallery by imposing draconian sanctions as the piece seemed to have advocated.

    He said: “In fact, the NCC has in several cases imposed heavy sanctions on our members for infractions. While ALTON often disagrees with the NCC on some of these sanctions, it would be unfair for anyone to suggest that the Commission has been lax or overly accommodating of breaches of any kind.

    “We are also deeply concerned that although the challenges faced by telecoms operators in Nigeria were highlighted, it unfairly down-played the effect of these challenges on service provision.

    “It is on record that in 2001 when the industry was liberalised, many global players shunned the opportunity because of dearth of supporting infrastructure. Those who eventually took up the licences paid as high as $285million for each licence on the assurance that the licence fees would be used to build and/or improve supporting infrastructure, particularly power and transmission networks. Eighteen years after, operators are still left to self-provide power, transmission, security and other supporting infrastructure which are taken for granted in other jurisdictions. Telecoms operators spend over N30 billion on diesel per annum, which is one of the highest usage in the country today. This, to us, should be of concern to any serious telecom sector analyst.”

    According to Adebayo, it is also rather disturbing that the issues of Right of Way (RoW), multiple taxation, vandalism of infrastructure, accessibility issues and shutting down of telecom infrastructure were identified but described as “weak arguments” for poor performance.

    “In the first place, we make bold to state that the quality of telecoms services in Nigeria is amongst the best in comparable jurisdictions, despite the challenges our members face in their day-to-day operations. Secondly, it is remarkable that despite the extremely high cost of providing services in Nigeria, the telecoms industry is the only sector where charges have been stable (even falling). Our members daily do battle the state, local government agencies which aggressively harass them to pay both legitimate and illegitimate taxes and levies which runs to several million naira in some cases, they daily  contend with high costs of diesel, frequent theft of equipment, etc. without increasing tariffs. It is on record that the cost of building one BTS site in Nigeria will build three similar structures in Ghana.

    “Despite all these, our subscribers pay far less tariffs per minute than they paid five years ago, and data charges have continued to fall over the years as we struggle to democratise access to life-changing telecoms services. Indeed, we challenge them to name any other service that has resisted inflationary trends as telecoms service. Not even the price of pure water has been as stable as telecoms services. ALTON members and the industry regulator deserve commendation for this feat, not scurrilous condemnation,” Adebayo said.

    ALTON, he said agrees that there are service quality and ethical concerns in some segments of the telecoms industry.

    He said: “We assure that our members are assiduously working with the regulator and other stakeholders to tackle these concerns in the best interests of our subscribers. However, it would be most unfair to downplay the impact of service ecosystem issues as the piece sought to do. Demanding world class services without championing holistic improvements in supporting infrastructure which directly impact the quality of such services is rather cheap and disingenuous. When the Kogi State government recently shut down about 20 BTS in that state, over 150 other base stations in at least nine states and the FCT were affected and subscribers in these states suffered serious service disruptions. The loss to both the operators and Nigeria would be difficult to quantify. In how many other countries do operators have to grapple with this kind of problems?”

    He solicited the support of all the critical stakeholders in the country to ALTON and the NCC in efforts to drive awareness amongst federal, state and local government officials on the need to protect telecoms infrastructure in the same way power, security and other infrastructure are protected in the country. This is the only way to guarantee improved services, he insisted.

  • NCC plans new tax framework for telecoms

    The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) is to work out a new tax framework for the telecoms industry.

    NCC Executive Commissioner , Sunday Dare, who disclosed this in a stakeholders  forum held in Kano.

    Speaking on the theme: Optimising the Benefits of Telecom Infrastructure in Nigeria, he  said the new plan will be presented to the National Economic  Council for adoption by all state Governors. Dare, represented by the Deputy Director,  Compliance Monitoring NCC, Alhaji Alkassim Umar, noted that the policy should be applied in their respective states for effectiveness and efficiency.

    “We are aware that this effort may require the amendment of the taxes and levies (approved list for collection) Act (amendment order of 2015, and I assure you that the NCC will lead the charge to see that this is done within the shortest possible time.”

    According to him, the  NCC has designed this engagement to achieve three primary objectives, among which include to reemphasis the immense benefit of ensuring the seamless operations of critical national Telecoms infrastructure, necessary to power growth across all sectors of the economy.

    “We want to better understand the peculiar issues that state MDAs’ are experiencing in their interface, with Telecoms operators and how to resolve these  issues in a mutually beneficial manner, so that all stake holders will agree on a clear and actionable work plan for speeding up the deployment of critical Telecoms infrastructure and protecting those already deployed”

    Furthermore, Dare stated that, “as we all know, telecoms infrastructure – and the ICT platforms, not only empower but are enablers of innovation and efficiency. They depend on opportunities to create jobs, improve productivity, as well as to create an enabling environment for the growth, ostensibly to stimulate economic growth to improve the Security and lives and property of the citizenry.”

  • NCC: telecoms, ICT boost GDP with N4.7trl

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said total contribution of the telecoms and information communication technology (ICT) sectors to the economy grew to N4.7trillion. It added that in the third quarter of this year alone, the sectors added N1.5 trillion.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the development represented a significant milestone for the industry as it means that the quality of services would improve across the country, adding that the country has also achieved 30.9 per cent broadband penetration to service the country’s telecom industry.

    According to him, active voice subscription has also grown from 165.2 million in October 2018 to 169.1million in November 2018.

    Represented by the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Mr Sunday Dare during an interactive session with reporters at Ibeto Hotel, Abuja, he said internet subscription grew from 107.5 million in October to 108.9 million in November 2018 , while total active broadband subscription on 3G and 4G platforms as at November 2018 is now 58,965,478.

    “Contributions of Telecommunications and Information Services to GDP from Q1 – Q3 2018 was N4.7 trillion naira according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. In the last quarter (Q3, 2018) the amount stood at N1.5 trillion, according to Q3 figures reported by the NBS,” the EVC said.

    He added that the telecommunications and information services sector also grew by 14.7 per cent from Q1, 2017 – Q3, 2018.

    Speaking earlier at the 86th Edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP), at the Shehu Masa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, Prof Danbatta said about nine persons have been arrested in a sting operation involving security agencies in Lagos for activities bordering on Call Masking/Refilling, while their devises were impounded.

    He added that those arrested have been handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

    The NCC chief said it is estimated that over $60 billion is being lost annually to the problems of Call Masking at the global level, he asserted that the good news is that the commission has been able to obtain the technology to track down the criminal act.

    He noted that the step taken by the NCC to address the problem has precipitated a reduction of about 34 per cent of the menace across the country.

    Danbatta said: “After the 85th Edition in Lagos, the Commission, in its wisdom and based on suggestions from participants, decided to treat the same topic at the 4th Quarter Edition of the Parliament holding here today. This is to essentially underscore the seriousness of the Commission in combating any instances of ‘communication fraud’ such as call masking/refiling in the industry.

     

     

  • ‘Telecoms is environmental pollutant’

    Despite ongoing global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, the telecoms industry remains environmentally polluting, MTN Group’s sustainability report for 2017 has shown .

    For example, the telco consumed a staggering 375 million litres of diesel last year, mainly to keep its base stations operational. It also used almost 1.4 billion megawatt-hours of electricity, up from 1.2 billion in 2016.

    “The primary energy consumers for MTN’s operations are our technical facilities: network sites, data centres, switches and hubs. This is the infrastructure that enables the communication services we provide (and) is responsible for 95.8 per cent of the total MTN energy consumption.

    “In countries such as South Africa and Iran, the bulk of our electrical energy is sourced from the national grid generated from coal combustion, as well as from a mix of resources, including natural gas, oil and hydropower. In other countries, such as Nigeria and Sudan, electricity is generated from stationary diesel combustion sources,” the report said.

    The group’s energy profile consists mainly of electricity provided by electricity utilities such as South Africa’s Eskom (mostly produced by burning coal) as well as the energy it generates from burning diesel to run its base stations, data centres and other infrastructure.

    It said it is striving in all the 22 countries it operates to move to more efficient and climate-friendly sources of energy, including hydropower and solar.

    According to Moneyweb, MTN consumed 19.1 billion gigajoules of energy in 2017, mainly from grid electricity, diesel and petrol. The group’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased by 24.7 per cent compared to 2016, to two million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

    MTN consumed approximately 24 per cent more energy in 2017, compared to 2016, mainly in its operations in South Africa, Iran, Nigeria and Ghana (together representing about 85 per cent of its total electricity consumption).

    “This increase is mainly driven by the growing number of network sites across these operations, and a general increase in electricity requirements for both existing infrastructure and for our ongoing investments in 4G sites, which are more power intensive,” it said.

    To reduce emissions — and costs — MTN is modernising its networks and ensuring new infrastructure investments are energy efficient and make use of alternative energy solutions.

    Efforts undertaken over the past seven years have resulted in total alternative-energy sites leased from tower management companies growing to 5 092 by December 2017. MTN itself operates 3 147 solar and solar-hybrid sites and has a total of 12 758 energy-efficiency sites.

    This has cumulatively resulted in 17 816k–! less diesel being used, saved 38 250MWh of electricity and avoided 69 584 tCO2e of emissions.

  • Smile gets Telecoms Leadership Award

    Smile gets Telecoms Leadership Award

    A Pioneer and leading 4G LTE telecoms service provider in West Africa, Smile Nigeria has won the Telecom Leadership Excellence Prize.

    The award was given to the firm by The African Institute for Innovation Leadership in Ikeja, Lagos.

    According to the organisers, the award was given in recognition of Smile’s excellence in Leadership Innovation and Customer Satisfaction. On hand to receive the award on behalf of the Managing Director, was Head, Brands and Communications, Smile Nigeria, Lotanna Anajemba. He assured that the company will remain steadfast to the noble ideals that have informed its unending quest for excellence. He said the award would help in energising the company to continue to deliver the best services and products, promising that the firm will not relent in its quest to offer consistent service delivery, super fast and reliable broadband internet services to Nigerians.

    Reaffirming the firm’s commitment to speed, quality and reliable 4G LTE mobile broadband services, Smile Communications recently secured additional capacity on IRU basis with one of the leading telcos in the country to improve its service quality and customer experience across Smile coverage areas.

    The company received commendation for keeping to its promise and sustenance of high-speed 4G LTE broadband internet and clear voice services, which it provides consumers in major cities across the country. The organisers also noted Smile’s contribution to the development of Nigeria and indeed Africa’s economy by providing a platform that enables its citizens achieve more both in their personal and business lives.

    Anajemba dedicated the award to Smile’s customers, trade partners and workers.

    The company has won the ‘Best Premium Quality Super Fast 4GLTE Mobile Broadband Service Provider of The Year 2016’, ‘The Most Innovative Broadband Service Provider of the Year’ at the 2016 Titans of Tech Awards, ICT Investment Award and Leadership Newspaper ICT/Telecoms Company of the year 2016, among others.

  • Ibadan chief gets N2m in damages against telecoms giant

    Ibadan chief gets N2m in damages against telecoms giant

    An Oyo State High Court yesterday ordered a GSM service provider – MTN Communication Nigeria Limited – to remove its telecommunication mast near the home of an Ibadan chief, Ajani Adedokun, with a fine of N2 million against the telecom giant.

    Justice O. M. Lagunju also ordered the MTN Nigeria Limited to immediately remove the high tension cable passing over Chief Adedokun’s roof to avert possible disaster.

    Adedokun filed the suit through his counsel, Mr. S. O. Ogunjimi, of Niyi Ogunjimi and Co Chambers.

    The claimant prayed the court to order MTN Nigeria Limited to remove its mast, which he said was illegally and unlawfully erected near his house, contrary to the provisions for installation of telecommunication masts and towers in the country.

    He also urged the court to award him (Adedokun) N100 million as damages for illegal and unlawful erection of the masts.

    He claimed the erection of the mast was hazardous to his health, the health of his family and other occupants of his house as well as various acts of trespass allegedly committed by the MTN Nigeria Limited.

    Justice Lagunju granted Adedokun’s plea and ordered MTN to remove the mast and the high tension cables.

    The judge held that to allow the cables, as they were, was waiting for a disaster to happen.

    He said the order became necessary because the erection of the telecoms giant’s mast close to Adedokun’s home contradicted the guidelines on installation of telecom masts and towers in the country.

    Justice Lagunju said the guidelines for installation of masts in the country stipulate that the distance of a telecom mast to the nearest house must not be less than five metres; otherwise, such installation would not be approved.

    The judge granted all the claims by the claimant and awarded him N2 million against MTN Nigeria Limited as general damages.

  • ‘Telecoms masts constitute no health hazard’

    ‘Telecoms masts constitute no health hazard’

    The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has said World Health Organisation (WHO) has given a clean bill of health to telecoms masts and towers that they do not constitute health hazards.

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, spoke at the weekend at the ‘NCC day’ at the trade fair in Port Harcourt.

    Represented by the Head, Department of Projects, Bashir Idris, Danbatta warned against resisting expansion and improved service delivery by communities and individuals, who refused right of way access to telecoms companies for fear of the myth.

    He said: “There are individuals who believe that telecoms masts and towers constitute health hazards to human beings. The commission maintains that WHO has affirmed that no result of any such hazard has been established against base stations.

    “Therefore, any individual or community adducing such reasons to deny right of way to telecoms companies and prevent them from expanding services are contributing to the poor quality of service in the network.”

    The vice chairman hinted that NCC would soon issue a directive to service providers to give 14- day window to subscribers to enable them roll over unused data.

    He said the move will stop the present practice where subscribers lose their unused data if they fail to renew on the date of expiration of the subscription.

    Danbatta said the issue of data expiration at the end of 30 days had been an issue of concern among consumers, noting that the commission had put service providers on special notice about the present monitoring of user experience and would call them to account in due course.

    He said the commission had embarked on sensitisation programmes to inform consumers about their rights and responsibilities.

  • NCC: Forex pangs stifle telecoms industry’s growth

    Regulator of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has lamented that telcos are facing challenges in accessing foreign exchange (forex) needed to expand capacity and help redefine end users’ experience on the network.

    According to the NCC, there are over 50,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) spread across the country. However, the actual number of BTS needed to provide optimal services to the over 170million population is 80,000, translating to an infrastructure gap of 30,000 BTS, estimated by industry experts at over N1.8 trillion.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta, in his inaugural lecture, titled: “Getting out of the Woods.  Diversifying Nigeria’s Economy through Telecommunications Sector”, delivered at Ahmadu Bello University, Kano (BUK), said the telecoms industry plays a crucial role in providing the requisite tools that support the diversification of the economy through improving the knowledge economy, using Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

    However, he said access to forex has become a major challenge to carriers in the country. “Telecoms operators are facing difficulties in accessing foreign exchange (forex) for the deployment of telecommunications services in the country.

    “In addressing the forex challenges, the Commission has engaged the management of the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) and to that effect, the CBN has agreed to include telecommunications as part of the CBN priority list for accessing forex. This has reduced the forex burden on the telecom operators,”he said.

    Speaking on the topic of the lecture, Danbatta said policies have been made over the years by successive governments to develop the non-oil sectors of the economy by initiating various supportive policies and incentives aimed at encouraging economic diversification with different degrees of success.

    According to him, these policies include protectionism (1960-1986) import substitution industrialisation aimed at expanding the industrial base, enhancing cash crops exports; trade liberalisation (1986 Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) era) aimed at deregulation, commercialisation, privatisation and liberalisation of the economy and export promotion aimed at facilitating the diversification of the economy through policy support to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to enhance exports.

    He said: “The liberalisation of the telecoms sector in 2001 has triggered a realistic opportunity of economic diversification, as the sector is adjudged to be one of the major support services needed to promote growth and modernisation of other sectors of the economy.

    “Telecoms breaks barriers, and as such, can act in its own right as an enabler to drive socio-economic transformation, growth, developments and modernisation across all sectors of the economy.”

    He said the telecoms sector has globally brought about radical changes in the way people interact, learn, work and transact commercial activities, adding that the sector also acts as the fulcrum and catalyst that propel the socio-economic transformation and growth of economies of nations.

    On pricing and competitiveness, Danbatta said: “Despite the huge mobile access and growing smartphone penetration, there are still challenges with reaching an acceptable price point for data services.

    “The NCC had to intervene with a temporary retail data price floor-this is however pending and awaiting the conduct of a comprehensive cost-based study.

    “There are also issues with stimulating demand for local content and affordability that are being addressed on a national scale. There is, therefore, a huge opportunity for infrastructure providers to offer cost-effective solutions and bridge the competiveness gap,” Danbatta said.