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  • NCC allays fears on service providers’ agitation for tariff increase

    NCC allays fears on service providers’ agitation for tariff increase

    …says no tariff hike without recourse to empirical studies

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has allayed the fears of Nigerians that no tariff increase will be effected by telecom operators without due regulatory approval by the Commission.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this was contained in a statement released by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs.

    Adinde stated that NCC has monitored with keen interest the deluge of reports in the media on the demand by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) ostensibly to increase tariffs of telecom services.

    He also stated that the Commission has taken notes of the fears being expressed by telecom subscribers on the agitation.

    TNG reports the demand being made by MNOs under the auspices of the Associatoon of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is contained in a letter to the Commission.

    ALTON cited high cost of running their operations as the major reason for their proposed tariff hike,

    However, the Commission in the statement noted that “Consistent with international best practice and established regulatory procedures, the NCC ensures its regulatory activities are guided by regular cost-based and empirical studies to determine appropriate cost (upper and floor price) within which service providers are allowed to charge their subscribers for services delivered.

    “The Commission ensures that any cost determined, as an outcome of such transparent studies is fair enough as to enhance healthy competition among operators, provide wider choices for the subscribers as well as ensure sustainability of the Nigerian telecoms industry”.

    The statement further reads: “For the avoidance of any doubt, and contrary to MNOs’ agitation to increase tariffs for voice and Short Messaging Services (SMS) by a certain percentage, the Commission wishes to categorically inform telecoms subscribers and allay the fears of Nigerians that no tariff increase will be effected by the operators without due regulatory approval by the Commission.

    “It is noteworthy that tariff regulations and determinations are made by the Commission in line with the provisions of Sections 4, 90 and 92 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which entrusts the Commission with the protection and promotion of the interests of subscribers against unfair practices including but not limited to; matters relating to tariffs and charges.

    “The current tarriff regime being administered by the service providers is a product of NCC’s determination both for voice and SMS in the past.

    “However, while there could be justifiable reasons for MNOs’ demand for tarrif increase, it should be noted that they are not allowed to do such either individually or collectively without recourse to NCC, following the outcome of a cost study. This is not the case for now.

    “Through NCC’s commitment to engendering healthy competition among the licensees, the cost of services has been democratised and become more and more affordable for Nigerian subscribers. The regulator is even more committed to this cause to ensure subscribers get greater value for money spent on telecom services”.

  • Telecom Operators rule out 5G interference with flights

    Telecom Operators rule out 5G interference with flights

    Nigerian telecom operators on Wednesday allayed fears of 5G’s interference with flight operations in the country.

    The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) made the clarification in a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo and Head of Operations, Gbolahan Awonuga.

    NAN reports that there has been ongoing debate in the United States over the risk of interference between 5G network and aviation equipment.

    Industry stakeholders in Nigeria and subscribers of telecom operators have also been expressing concerns that the country’s aviation sector might experience the same issue.

    The association, however. said that the context in Nigeria was different, noting that the guard band that exists between the spectrum frequencies allocated by Nigeria Communication Commission( NCC) for 5G services and those allocated to aviation industry remains in the region of 400MHz.

    It said that the allocation was in line with the guidelines instituted by National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), the government agency responsible for sectorial allocation of spectrum and the NCC.

    “This means that there is no greater risk of interference with 5G networks than there is with any of the existing transmissions taking place in the frequencies adjacent to those used by radio-altimeters.

    “We fully understand why the suggestion of risk to the aviation industry is so emotive for so many Nigerians.

    ” ALTON is fully committed to working with the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), the NCC and other relevant regulatory agencies towards providing as much clarity as is required to ensure that Nigerians’ have the information they need to analyze and understand these issues properly,” it said.

    The Association said that while the issues being discussed were highly technical, it is important to ensure they are explained and understood in the simplest possible terms.

    It said that it was also necessary that they highlighted the major differences between the situation in the USA and the structures in place in Nigeria.

    According to the association, mobile networks, just like radio, TV and other broadcast services, operate using bands of spectrum (frequency ranges) that are allocated by the government to allow the transmission of different services.

    It noted that these bands of spectrum were deliberately structured in a way that prevents interference between them, by ensuring that what is called a ‘guard band’ (an unused part of the radio spectrum) exist between the frequencies.

    “The simplest way of understanding this is to use the radio station as an example.
    When trying to tune in to a specific station, you will find that you may pick up some of the transmission on either side of the exact frequency for that radio station.

    “This is because radio transmissions are particularly likely to ‘overspill’ into space on either side of the transmission frequency that is being used.

    “This same concept applies to all transmissions and is why guard bands are put in place. They are unused spectrum frequencies on either side of the allocated frequency for transmission, which ‘guard’ against the overspill, “the association said.

  • We received orders from FG to suspend Twitter – Telecom operators

    We received orders from FG to suspend Twitter – Telecom operators

    The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), an industry group, says it had received directives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.

    The President of ALTON, Mr Gbenga Adebayo made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, on Saturday.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the action may not be unconnected with Friday’s indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operations, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Buhari’s account.

    Adebayo noted that the association wished to confirm that its members had received formal instructions from NCC, the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.

    “ALTON has also conducted a robust assessment of the request in accordance with internationally accepted principles.

    “Based on national interest provisions in the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and within the licence terms under which the industry operates; our members have acted in compliance with the directives of NCC.

    “We will continue to engage all relevant authorities and stakeholders and will act as may be further directed by the NCC, ” Adebayo said.

    He said the association remained committed to supporting the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens.

    As an industry, ALTON endorsed the position of the United Nations that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online, Adebayo’s statement said.

    He noted that this included respecting and protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.

  • USSD banking services to stop working over huge banks’ debts

    USSD banking services to stop working over huge banks’ debts

    The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) on Friday said its members will withdraw USSD services from financial service providers due to huge indebtedness.

    ALTON said this in a statement on Friday signed by its Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo and Head of Operations, Mr Gbolahan Awonuga.

    It said that with the concurrence of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission, Mobile Network Operators would disconnect Financial Service Providers (FSPs) from USSD services, until their huge debt was paid.

    ALTON noted that its members were initiating a phased process of withdrawal of USSD services, starting with the most significant debtors within the FSPs effective March 15.

    It said that members had continued to provide USSD services because their primary concern was that millions of Nigerian customers access financial services through USSD infrastructure everyday.

    The association said it was given greater importance when customers’ became reliant on these services due to the COVID-19 movement restrictions.

    “Unfortunately, due to huge indebtedness and the possibility to agree on a structure for these payments without asking end-users to pay, the government has been forced to intervene.

    “The government intervened to ensure that a sustainable cost-sharing solution is agreed on, so that consumers do not get affected in the long-term,” said the statement.

    It said that members deeply regret reaching a point where the withdrawal of these services had become unavoidable.

    That they would remain committed to working closely with the relevant ministries and regulators to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to minimise the disruption to customers.

    The statement, however, encouraged subscribers to explore alternative channels with their banks, while the withdrawal of USSD service was in place.

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Issa Pantami had issued a letter to the Central Bank of Nigeria, seeking a resolution of the on-going dispute between the banking sector and the telecoms sector over appropriate methodology to use to charge for USSD services.

  • Makinde seeks out-of-court settlement with sacked chairmen

    Makinde seeks out-of-court settlement with sacked chairmen

    Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has opted for an out-of-court settlement.

    The governor had instituted a case against the 68 chairmen of the 33 local governments and 35 local council development areas (LCDAs), all of the All Progressive Congress (APC) he sacked on May 29, 2019, upon his swearing in.

    The sacked chairmen were elected on May 12, 2018 in an election the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boycotted on the grounds that there was a court injunction against the conduct of the poll that was not vacated before the election was conducted. But the APC claimed that the injunction was vacated two days to the election.

    The PDP claimed further that the law that set up Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) that conducted the council poll did not give the power to the commission to conduct election into the LCDAs, which the party said, has rendered the election illegal.

    But the sacked chairmen relied on the pronouncement of the Supreme Court and a letter written to the governor by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and forcefully resumed in the 33 local governments and 35 local council development areas after Makinde appointed caretaker chairmen for the council areas last December.

    The government obtained an injunction from the Oyo State High Court last week, which restrained the council chairmen, Inspector-General of Police, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice among others from further action on the matter.

    Read Also: Oyinlola remains a strong pillar we want in PDP, says Makinde
    At the resumed hearing on the matter before Justice Mashud Abass yesterday, counsel to the state government, Dr. Akin Onigbinde (SAN), told the court that the state government had decided to adopt out-of-court settlement for the sake of peace and would come back to the court if the strategy failed.

    Counsel to the defendants, Niyi Akintola (SAN) and Kunle Sobaloju, said their clients would not accept any impediment against smooth dispensation of justice.

    They said that it would be necessary that all cases on the suspension of the council chairmen be dispensed with before the out-of-court settlement idea could work.

    Justice Mashud Abass hailed the counsel for their disposition and cautioned all parties to ensure that peace reigned in Oyo State.

    He said the judiciary will remain neutral in the matter and ensure that justice prevails.

    The court adjourned the case till February 12 for the parties to report on the level of progress on the out-of-court settlement or the continuation of the case.

  • Coming 5G networks: How Nigerians can derive maximum benefits

    Gbenga Adebayo, President, Association of Licenced Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has revealed how Nigerians can derive maximum benefits from the coming 5th generation networks.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports President of the ALTON made the revelation on Wednesday during the 2019 Workshop for Judges on Legal Issues in Telecommunications organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    According to the ALTON President, the country “needs robust infrastructure that guarantees uninterrupted telecom services to be able to enjoy derivable benefits of the coming 5th generation networks”.

    Speaking at the workshop, Dr. A. S. Peters, while noting that radiation would normally affect the bio-system, said there is no existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level EMF.

    “Radiation would affect the bio-system but the fundamental question is the threshold above which the effects become enabling or a threat to human health.

    “Importantly, after over 25,000 peer reviewed papers and meta-analysis, WHO has done in-depth review of available literature and concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level EMF,” said Peters.

    According to Prof. Abiola Sanni at the workshop, beyond multiple regulations and other infrastructure disruption issues, the major problem bedevilling the telecom sector may be abuse of regulatory powers by various agencies for revenue purposes.

    However, Odume Ikechukwu, Director of Legal Services at FIRS said there hasn’t been any increase in taxation because FIRS has no power to unilaterally increase taxes.

    “Even VAT is still 5% and Personal Income Tax has not been increased,” the FIRS Director said.

    Meanwhile, in his welcome address at the workshop that held Enugu, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of NCC, who was represented by Sunday Dare, the Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management at NCC, said the workshop, which has held for 17 consecutive years, is organised annually by the Commission to bring the judiciary up to speed with emerging issues in telecommunications.

    The objective is to enhance the capacity of the judiciary to dispense justice in telecommunications cases from an informed position oriented in appropriate and contemporary knowledge.

    “Indeed, technology can make the law to be very timid and reluctant because technology evidently moves faster while the law struggles to catch up.

    “The implication of this is that judges may face situations in which they may have to rely on extant laws to adjudicate on cases, thus creating scenarios that are out of sync with reality,” a statement by the Commission read.

    This circumstance of disparity in tempo of progress between technology and the law, as well as attendant necessity for synchronisation through knowledge sharing which is the overarching objective of the workshop, was amplified by Hon. Justice R.P.I. Bozimo, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, and by Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed PhD CFR, Hon. Ag. Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute, who was represented at the event by Hon. Justice Mary Odili, JSC, in the Opening Remark and Keynote Address respectively.

    The moderator of the workshop, Sunday Dare, set the ball rolling by inviting Yetunde Akinloye, NCC’s Director of Legal and Regulatory Services, to make the first major presentation of the day – Overview of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.

    Akinloye told the judges that because the NCA do not provide for everything like most laws, section 70 of the Act empowers the Commission to make subsidiary legislations and the legislations go through normal legal processes and are gazetted before they become operational.

    Akinloye also revealed that Lawful Interception Regulation, National Communications Policy 2012 (undergoing review), the National Broadband Policy 2013-2018 are part of the instruments affect and shape the operation of the Act.

    The NCC according to Akinloye also derives powers from the Nigerian Telegraphy Act of 1961 (reviewed in 1998). She noted that the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015, and the new Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2019) are also regulations that overlap with some provisions of NCA 2003 and NCC relates with agencies supervising the implementation of these and other impinging laws to reduce the spectrum of conflict in enforcing the laws.

    “The operators in Nigeria are complaining about the OTTs because of the implications for revenue and operational issues. So, as a regulator NCC is exploring how to achieve a win-win situation between operational issues and the need for services to be available, accessible and affordable to the consumers,” Akinloye said.

    Conclusively, Akinloye told the judges that the Nigerian Communications Act (2003) is undergoing comprehensive review by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

  • Telecoms operators seek review of taxes, levies

    The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has urged the Federal Government to look into the “Tax and Levy Amended Order 2015’’.

    The Executive Secretary of ALTON, Mr Gbolahan Awonuga, said in Lagos on Thursday that the “Tax and Levy Amended Order 2015’’ was signed by a former Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

    Awonuga said that the order had created a lot of confusion in the taxes and levies regime, making the environment harsh for business and not minding government’s Ease of Doing Business programme.

    He said that in Nigeria today, most of the regulatory bodies had left the regulatory functions and now turned to revenue generating bodies and bringing about multiple taxation and regulation.

    According to him, telecommunications operations are not isolated to the ecosystem, as the cost of running business in Nigeria, especially telecommunications is triple the cost of running same in Ghana and neighbouring countries.

    “Almost all agencies of government are after telecommunications, why? We cannot afford to have crisis in the industry because we operate one network in all networks.

    “We call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of Tax and Levy Amended Order 2015 signed by the former Minister of Finance in the last administration, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,’’ he said in a statement.

    Awonuga recalled that ALTON was at a meeting with the management of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Feb. 12, 2019 in Lagos.

    He said that at the meeting, it was cleared that all taxes charged by NCAA were statutory, as they were in the NCAA Act.

    “The issue of Aviation mast height clearance was discussed because our members are being charged across the nation, be it close to the airports or not.

    “NCAA tried to increase some of the charges as reported to us by our members and we took it up with NCAA.

    “ALTON and its members are informed that the essence of the Aviation Height clearance is purely for safety, because they have to identify the routes to guide the pilots in navigation.

    “We were informed that there were categories of aircraft – big, medium and small. The choppers and the drones are part of their responsibilities and these are not limited to telecommunications infrastructure but to banks, radio stations and high rise building.

    “The director-general said there are lots of airstrips and helipads which are the reasons for charging across board,’’ the executive secretary said.

    He said that on the annual renewal, ALTON was informed that the reason for the renewal was because the earth moved occasionally and the co-ordinates also changed.

    According to him, contrary to reports in newspapers, there is no face-off between NCAA and ALTON and its members.

    He said that ALTON needed clarification on the charges and this led to the agreement to form an Advisory Committee, which comprised NCAA and ALTON representatives.

    “Our members are responsible corporate citizens of the country and natural partners in progress that follow due process.

    “The telecommunication industry has been the best customer centric sector, where issues pertaining to subscribers are taking very seriously by both the operators and the regulator.

    “Despite all challenges, there has not for once been an outage.

    “We are talking about Smart State initiatives and last mile penetration but some states’ demands on Right of Way (RoW) are outrageous.

    “The states are supposed to provide infrastructure for operators to lease but telecommunications operators spend about 70 per cent of their Capital Expenditure (CapEx) on RoW, leaving the remaining 30 per cent to build. This is not fair,’’ Awonuga said.

     

  • NCC to introduce new framework on infrastructure sharing, co-location

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it will introduce a more active infrastructure sharing and co-location framework to help the small telecom operators provide service to all Nigerians.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC said this on Tuesday in Abuja while fielding questions from newsmen.

    Telecommunications operators had recently called on the NCC to look into the indebtedness of smaller telecom operators and support them to survive competition.

    Mr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), made the call at a telecom stakeholders’ forum recently in Lagos.

    Adebayo had said that reports and studies showed that big telecom operators survive more than small ones, urging NCC to help small operators survive competition from the bigger ones.

    Danbatta said that NCC has frameworks for infrastructure sharing and co-location at the moment to ensure that companies without the capacity to deploy their own infrastructure could pay and get a lease of infrastructure from the bigger ones.

    “Of recent, we are going to introduce another framework on active infrastructure sharing and co-location, meaning we are raising the bait.

    “In all our regulatory framework, you will discover we have palliatives for smaller telecom operators and those with about seven and a half per cent of the market share are given consideration in asymmetric regulations.

    “Asymmetric in the sense that we enforce on the bigger operators and we relax on the small ones,’’ he said.

    According to him, the asymmetry is a common characteristic of NCC regulations with the intention to protect the smaller operators.

    He said the regulation was to avail smaller operators a level playing field to play in a market dominated by the bigger operators.

    “The small operators are equally cared for and they are given the chance to provide services for Nigerians.

    “This is in order to ensure neutrality in the way and manner Nigerians subscribe to services, ‘’ he added.

     

  • Etisalat Nigeria: Change of name essential – Telecoms association

    Etisalat Nigeria: Change of name essential – Telecoms association

    Telecoms association of Nigeria under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) on Tuesday has said the change of Etisalat Nigeria’s brand name was essential for effective transition.

    ALTON’s Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the change of name was part of the transition process for the telecommunications company.

    “As part of the change process that the brand is going through, change of brand name is a part of the issues that should be resolved.

    “It is all part of the transition process they are currently going through.

    “As you know, the company has a new management team; it also has a new board of directors.

    “And we will expect that part the issues that should be dealt with in the cause of resolution of all the problems is the brand related issue,” he said.

    Adebayo said that the change of the brand name would not have a significant impact on the operation of the company because it was just an identity.

    According to him, Etisalat is a global identity that has succeeded in Nigeria.

    “But the fact of the matter is that there has to be a change and we hope that the change will be for the good of it.

    “Experience has shown that subscribers are not looking for identity; they are looking for quality of service.

    “In whatever umbrella they operate in going further, once they able to sustain the pace of the quality of service they have been offering, I don’t see why their subscribers base should decline.

    “The challenge for them is that while they go through this process, they must do all in their best to ensure that the quality of service is not affected, hence it will not negatively affect the subscriber base,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru reports since the month of March, Etisalat Nigeria has been having issues with consortium of 13 banks, over the payment 1.2 billion dollar loan.

    Etisalat Group had on Monday given Etisalat Nigeria three weeks ultimatum to stop the usage of its brand name.

    The Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd. (EMTS), trading as Etisalat Nigeria has however informed its customers that the change of brand name would not affect its operations.

    Mr Ibrahim Dikko, the Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, EMTS said that the telecommunications company would continue to stay true to its “Naijacentric identity’’.

     

  • Telecoms indebtedness: Operators beg for interconnect settlement scheme

    Telecoms indebtedness: Operators beg for interconnect settlement scheme

    Stakeholders in the telecommunications ecosystem have urged Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to establish Interconnect Settlement Scheme to address issues arising from interconnect indebtedness in the industry.

    They cited the example of Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) established by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reconcile inter- bank transactions.

    According to them, the establishment of this scheme has become expedient in view of high indebtedness between operators; most of the debts are on account of dispute.

    Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said that the situation in the industry is so bad that the indebtedness between parties is better not discussed.

    “In essence, people are owing. That said; it is just goes to speak why sometimes there would be cold war. Because, when those meeting are held it is better we are not aware. The situation of indebtedness between parties is very worrisome. It speaks volumes about the state of the health of the entire industry.

    “Some people challenge me: if you say you are not making money why do you spend so much on billboards. Now, you have seen that those billboards are actually bank money. The situation is so bad that we are not proud to talk about the debt.Ike Nnamani, chief executive officer, Medallion, attributed the situation to refusal of operators to make use of interconnect clearing houses as mandated by NCC.

    “When indebtedness among operators rose to an alarming level some years back, NCC licensed interconnect clearing houses to ensure transparency in the billing process and mandated every operator to rout at least 10 percent of their traffic through the clearing platform, but, today none of the operators are anywhere close to 10 percent.

    “Some are doing five percent while some are less than that, this means that more than 90 percent of traffic in the industry is exchanged directly among other which gave rise to high indebtedness as we witness today,” he said.

    He explained that exchanging traffic directly among operators does not guarantee transparent billing as well gives rise to anti competition practices as we see it today.

    It would be recalled that the NCC in 2012 licensed interconnect clearing houses to provide and operate Interconnect Exchange Services to the telecommunications Operators, by so doing address the issue of indebtedness in the sector after big operators where denying smaller operators interconnection to their network as a result of debts owe to them.

    The take-off of interconnect clearing house which provided the platform for sorting out of monies due to each operator and period of settlement helped to address that indebtedness.