The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday doled out smartphones in a raffle draw to the excitement of telecoms consumers in the federal capital territory (FCT).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Commission also doled out free airtime of different networks to telecoms consumers in an event that was held in the venue of the Abuja International Trade Fair.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Office (EVC/CEO) of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, expressed delight to be part of the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair organized by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
Represented by Mr Umar Alkasim, NCC’s Director in charge of Consumer Affairs, Danbatta said the Commission has leveraged the trade fair platform over the years to engage telecoms consumers and business owners, who are based in various regions of the country.
“Partnering with ACCI through our Special “NCC Day” event is a pleasure for us at the Commission, as it usually provides a veritable platform for interaction with telecoms stakeholders, especially our esteemed telecoms consumers,” Danbatta said.
Describing the theme of the trade fair: ‘Sustainable Financing and Taxation’ as “very apt and timely”, the NCC EVC noted that the Commission recognizes the fact that the telecommunications sector has been a strategic driver of the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.
He stressed the telecommunications industry plays a pivotal role in driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and enhancing the quality of life for citizens across the globe, adding that the Commission will continue to provide the needed digital stamina to support the economy, especially through technology.
“As the telecommunications regulator in Nigeria, we bear the responsibility of ensuring the sustainability and vitality of the sector.
“It is no longer news that telecommunications empowers individuals, connects businesses, strengthens industries and enables governments to provide essential services efficiently thereby driving development and prosperity.
“Information Communications Technology (ICT) is not only one of the fastest growing industries – directly creating millions of jobs – but it is also an important enabler of innovation and development, as it provides the backbone infrastructure for transactional business and taxation for Government.
“However, maintaining this digital infrastructure and its continued growth necessitates substantial investment. Sustainable financing in telecommunication involves sourcing the necessary capital to build and maintain robust telecommunications networks.
“As regulators, we understand that this financing should be stable, accessible and conducive for industry growth. Taxation while essential for funding of Government initiatives must strike a delicate balance between revenue generation and industry growth.
“Our role as regulator, is to advocate for fair taxation practices that do not stifle innovation or place undue burden on consumers.
“We acknowledge the intricacies of tax policies but emphasize the importance of creating an environment where telecommunications companies can thrive.
“To address these challenges the Commission continuously engage both the Federal and State Government on the need to harmonize taxation in the telecommunications sector.
“NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria and make it competitive comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our businesses and industries digitally compliant,” Danbatta said.
Nigeria’s active mobile subscribers hit 220m – NCC
Speaking further, the NCC boss disclosed that the number of active mobile subscriptions in the country has reached 220,715,961 million as of August 2023.
Danbatta said the number of active internet subscribers was 159,034,717 million, with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as of August 2023.
He said that the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depended on their ability to leverage new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.
Danbatta said: “In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023, while Teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent at the same period.
“Also, the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 Million with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as of August 2023.
“In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depends on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.
“This in turn benefits the economy financially.”
To sustain the steady growth of the telecoms sector, Danbatta said that NCC would continue to create a conducive environment.
He said that an environment that would stimulate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure to improve the Quality of service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for telecom 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,” Danbatta said.
Earlier, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim, reiterated that NCC’s commitment was to ensure fair competition and a level playing field for all stakeholders in the telecommunication industry.
Alkasim, represented by Head, Consumer Policy Development and Monitoring, NCC, Mr Ayanbanji Ojo, said that the commission was safeguarding the interest of consumers from abuse of their rights and privileges against unfair practices in the telecom service value chain.
“This commitment is demonstrated by the commission’s continuous effort to establish seamless programmes that would Protect, Inform and Educate (PIE Mandate) telecom consumers through various consumer-centric initiatives,” he said.
TNG reports the raffle draw winning ticket numbers are 029, 140, 438, 364, 268, 443, 056 and 039. Raffle draw ticket number 252 was disqualified. The winners were gifted smartphones.