NCC: Set to Digitally Enable the Renewed Hope Agenda

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has asserted its role as being instrumental in advancing the development of the Nigerian telecom sector as well as assisting the realisation of the objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.  In an official communication pushed out from its headquarters, Abuja, the NCC insists that it current agenda emphasizes supporting youth and women by leveraging the digital economy. It asserts that as the nation marks one year of the current administration, the NCC highlights its commitment to the Ministerial Blueprint, “Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency,” spearheaded by Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.  This blueprint aims to support Nigeria’s economic growth through enhanced productivity and digital innovation. Key targets of the Strategic Agenda 2023-2027 include improving Quality of Service (QoS) by 50% by 2024, increasing broadband penetration to 70% by 2025, and achieving significant improvements in data download speeds and coverage.  The agenda also aims to reduce the unconnected population in rural areas from 61% to less than 20% by 2027. Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, the statement indicates, has identified three Strategic Focus Areas: Consumers, Industry and Licensees, and Government.  His approach prioritizes balancing the needs of these stakeholders while enhancing the Quality of Experience for consumers, addressing industry debt issues, advocating for telecom infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure, and reviewing regulatory instruments to align with current realities. Through these efforts, the NCC is poised to deliver on the promise of Renewed Hope, driving Nigeria’s digital transformation and fostering economic growth.

Anyone Buying, Using Pre-Registered SIM Cards Risk Jail, NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians against buying and using pre-registered Sim cards. The Commission in a warning alert posted on its verified X platform handle said that buying and using pre-registered Sim cards was a criminal act and could attract severe consequences including imprisonment. The Commission further stated that “Buying pre-registered SIM cards is criminal and may lead to imprisonment, implication in identity theft, financial fraud, kidnapping and armed robbery.” According to NCC, buying and using pre-registered SIM cards leads to “Unreliable collation of consumer information,” and creates “Difficulty in tracking the real criminals using such telephones in the country.” It called on Nigerians to follow the proper procedures for registration of their SIM cards to avoid any legal consequences. Recall that NCC had in December 2020 directed Nigerian telecommunications companies to compel their subscribers to link their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NIN). The NCC made the linkage compulsory, directing all telecommunications operators to enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers fail to link their SIM cards to their NINs. Following the enforcement of the directive, there have been two phases, on February 28 and on March 29 when some Nigerians’ SIM cards were barred by telecommunications companies for not having been linked to NIN. The Commission, however, extended the deadline for linking SIM cards to NIN (last phase) to from April 15 to July 31, 2024, stressing that the extension applies to subscribers with more than four SIM cards.

Glo, MTN, Airtel, Plan to Raise Tariff

Nigerians are in for very tough times as telecommunications companies operating in the country, namely Glo, MTN, Airtel, and 9Mobile have hinted of plans to raise their tariff. The four have called on regulatory authorities in the sector to facilitate constructive dialogue with the federal government in that regard. They expressed that the current price control mechanism is not in tune with the economic realities in Nigeria and hence the demand for government’s intervention in order to address pricing challenges. The four telecommunications companies say they were the only ones that have not reviewed their prices, which threaten the industry’s sustainability and possibly erodes investors’ confidence. They made this known in a joint statement by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday. According to the statement signed by ALTON Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, and ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, there has not been a general service pricing upward review in the past 11 years. They attributed the non-increment to regulatory constraints despite the adverse operating environment and economic hardship. They said: “For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence. “Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last 11 years, primarily due to regulatory constraints. “Government needs to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.” They also expressed concerns on the worsening security challenges affecting the productivity of the services provided, urging the federal government erect measures to tackle the menace. “Telecom infrastructure undisputedly plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s national security and socioeconomic growth, especially as the country currently contends with multiple security challenges that require urgent and immediate actions in response to these threats. “Attacks on cell towers, fibre optic cables, and other critical assets disrupt telecommunications services and result in significant financial losses for operators. We urge the government to prioritize the security of telecommunications infrastructure and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to enhance protection measures and combat vandalism and sabotage effectively. “The industry also requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades,” they said.

Interconnect Debt Dispute Resolved Between MTN Nigeria and Glo

In a recent announcement by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the interconnect debt dispute between MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Globacom Limited has been successfully resolved.  The resolution comes within the 21-day grace period provided by the NCC, as highlighted in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka. Previously, the NCC had issued a warning in January, stating that Glo subscribers might face restrictions on making calls to MTN lines due to unresolved interconnect charges.  The potential disconnection could have affected 61.54 million mobile subscriptions on Glo’s network. The NCC extended its notice period to allow both companies to reach an agreement, taking into consideration the impact on subscribers.  In the recent statement, the NCC confirmed the amicable resolution of the dispute and withdrew the disconnection approval granted to MTN. The statement emphasized the NCC’s commitment to strict adherence to the terms and conditions of licenses, especially those outlined in interconnection agreements. Additionally, the commission expressed its proactive approach to preventing future instances of interconnect indebtedness within the industry.  This includes requesting relevant records and regular updates from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and adopting a transparent approach to industry indebtedness.

Active Internet Subscribers Hit 159.03m – NCC

The Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta says the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023. Danbatta also said the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 million with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023. Danbatta stated this at the ‘NCC Day’ during the 18th Abuja International Trade fair organised by the Abuja chamber of commerce and industry on Thursday in Abuja. Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Mr Umar Alkasim, the EVC said growth in the telecom sector has been remarkable. “The steady growth of the telecoms sector over the years with its pervasive positive impact on all other sectors of the economy in terms of increased automation of processes and digital transformation in service delivery has been remarkable. “This, however, would not have been possible without you, telecoms consumers who are using the services daily. “ He said in order to sustain the growth, “the NCC has over the years created a conducive environment that stimulates deployment of robust telecoms and broadband infrastructure for improving the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for telecoms consumers, be it individuals or corporates.  “This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage.  “ The NCC boss said the Commission is working assiduously with various stakeholders including the consumers, to see how more businesses can embrace digital platforms for delivering their services to the consumer.  “As a regulator, we also ensure we constantly inform you, the consumers on how to be protected to prevent cases of online fraud or avoid consumers falling victim to cybercrime antics while in their legitimate use of the Internet,” he said.  He said the NCC will continue to provide a level-playing ground for operators to thrive, promote investment and delivery of innovative services to individual consumers and business owners by ensuring enhanced consumer quality of experience.

Foreign Telcos Reject New NCC Funds Repatriation Policy

Airtel Nigeria and some other foreign telecom companies operating in Nigeria have rejected the Corporate Governance provision by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the repatriation of funds. Section 14 (16) of the Corporate Governance Guidelines published by the NCC, which the operators are frowning at states: “The Board shall ensure a licensee seeking to repatriate funds over 30 per cent of its annual net profit shall obtain the prior written approval of the Commission.” Expressing their displeasure during a public inquiry on the draft guidelines, the telecom operators, including IHS Nigeria, ATC Nigeria, and Airtel Nigeria argued that the provision would discourage investments even as it contradicts existing laws on the repatriation of funds by foreign companies operating in Nigeria. In its written submission during the inquiry, a tower company, ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited, stated: “Repatriation of funds ensures that foreign investors successfully reap the dividend of their investment (particularly when the licensee has mainly foreign investors). Waiting for the approval of the NCC before funds are repatriated will lead to investor dissatisfaction and affect the smooth operation of the company. “We respectfully suggest that the approval of the NCC be obtained where the repatriation involves a significant amount that might jeopardize the company’s operations. The repatriation threshold that would require the approval of NCC be fixed at 80 per cent.” Expressing similar concern over the same provision, Airtel Nigeria in its submission to the regulator said the Section 14(16) Guidelines are in contravention of Section 15(4) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Chapter F34, 1995 18 which guarantees unrestrictive transferability of returns from Foreign Direct Investment. “It is also at variance with the Federal Government’s policy guaranteeing 100 per cent repatriation of profit from investments in the country. This pre-approval requirement from the Regulator to repatriate more than 30 percent of net profit could discourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the industry. According to HIS Nigeria, the provision has far-reaching implications and would only create bottlenecks and discourage investments, both local and foreign. “Given that foreign shareholders and bondholders are entitled to receive dividends and interest respectively depending on the capital structure of the entities, the inability to timely meet interest repayments portends a negative connotation for the country especially as lenders would be reluctant to extend further credit to local borrowers and this eventually adversely impacts sovereign credit ratings. “Requiring prior written approval of the Commission to repatriate funds is unduly restrictive and at variance with the policy position of the current government administration which has expressed the desire to attract foreign investments. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission in its response to the operators’ concern said it had taken note of all their submissions and would take care of it in its ongoing review of the document.