Telecoms Investment Jumps From $38bn To $77bn, Says NCC

Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), says telecoms investment inflow grew from $38 billion to $77 billion by the second quarter of 2023. Danbatta, who spoke in Kano on Saturday at a media parley, revealed that the sector had contributed 16 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the period under review. He said that the statistics by the NCC was based on the computation by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS). He said: “From about eight per cent contribution to GDP in 2015, when I came on board as the EVC of NCC, quarterly GDP has increased significantly to reach its current threshold of 16 per cent. “And this has continued to positively impact all aspects of the economy.” Danbatta, however, attributed the success to “thorough sustained regulatory excellence and operational efficiency by the Commission”, adding that the industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades. “We have witnessed explosive growth, improved regulatory standard, digital innovation that have generated global recognition,” he said. He said that telephone users in Nigeria had hit 218.9 million, internet subscribers 159.5 million, while broadband users in the country now are 88.7 million within the period under review. Danbatta listed issue of Right of Way (RoW), fibre cuts, high capital requirement for deployment, multiple taxations and regulations, among other frustrations, constituting barriers to broadband deployment in the country. The EVC, however, assured that the NCC would “navigate regulatory complexities, digital divide and literacy to tackle the challenges”. He said that the commission would establish an emergency communication centre in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Danbatta said establishing the centres was necessary, so as to bridge the gap between distressed and emergency response agencies in the country. He explained that the commission had increased the amount of research grants being given to universities from N20 million to N30 million. He said that three universities had benefitted from the new grant, so far. “NCC as a regulator is mindful of the fact that telecom is an enabler and catalyst for economic advancement of the country. “It has consistently made available, affordable and accessible telecoms service to check certain telecoms barriers,” he said. Danbatta added that the task of the commission as a regulatory agency in the development of the telecommunications sector was to ensure best practices. He said that this was in view of the fact that NCC was one of the sectors that had contributed to the enhanced growth of the Nigerian economy. The vice-chairman pointed out that other major challenges confronting the commission included wilful destruction of its facilities and the number of taxes imposed on telecommunication companies. “The challenges being faced by the commission include 41 categories of taxes imposed on telecommunications companies and wilful destruction of our facilities,” he said. He said that the commission would continue to engage stakeholders in the media industry in order to keep members of the public abreast of its activities.

Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions hit 220.5m

Latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that active subscriptions across mobile networks MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile rose by 0.4 percent to 220.5 million in July. An analysis of the operators’ data showed that the growth in the subscription database was buoyed by MTN, which gained 678,008 new subscriptions in the month under review. The marginal gain was recorded after four months of steady decline in subscriptions. As of June, active subscriptions across the mobile networks stood at 219.7 million, which shows that the country’s mobile subscriptions database grew by 770,889 in July. The NCC’s statistics show that MTN, the largest operator by subscriber number, boosted the total industry database with a 678,008 increase in its subscriptions. This brought its total active subscriptions to 85.3 million from 84.6 million it recorded in June 2023. 9mobile also gained 176, 105 new subscriptions, which brought its total active connected lines to 13.7 million from 13.5 million in June. Similarly, Globacom added 23,565 new subscriptions in the month to record 61.4 million total subscriptions. However, Airtel, the third-largest operator by subscriber number, lost subscriptions in the month. Airtel’s database plunged by 106,789 in the month under review to 60 million. The slight gain in July indicated that the mobile operators may have completed the disconnection of lines registered by under 18 subscribers, which led to the steady decline in subscriptions between March and June this year. The NCC had in recent guidelines reviewed the age of owning a SIM upward from 16 to 18 years, which means that young Nigerians under 18 cannot register a SIM. Explaining why it revised the age of acquiring a SIM upward from 16 to 18, NCC in a statement released when the regulation was first announced in October 2021 said it was aimed at protecting minors in the country. The Commission said this was also in accordance with the Nigerian constitution, which recognizes 18 as the age at which a Nigerian can enter a contractual relationship. The Commission further explained that SIM acquisition is a contract between service providers and their subscribers, which requires the subscriber to have proper legal status, be of mature mind, and be rational enough to bear specific responsibilities, obligations, and liabilities imposed by a contract.