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Tag: Helen Obi

  • NCC amends regulatory instruments in anticipation of 5G revolution in Nigeria

    NCC amends regulatory instruments in anticipation of 5G revolution in Nigeria

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has set in motion the process to amend regulatory instruments in anticipation of 5G revolution in Nigeria, which the Commission has envisaged will result in the proliferation of devices in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports NCC on Tuesday began a three-day public inquiry on five (5) regulatory instruments, one of which is the type approval regulatory instrument, which provides a framework for the approval of communications equipment for connection to communications networks in the country.

    The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta disclosed that public inquiry is a key element in the Commission’s consultative engagements as part of its rule-making process and a key ingredient of its regulatory excellence.

    Danbatta further disclosed that the Commission has also introduced business rules for type approval to address issues that cannot be catered for in the regulations and ensure that the type approval process is seamless.

    The NCC EVC stated that with the deployment of 5G in Nigeria, mobile network operators will invest heavily in communications infrastructure and that with the technological advancements anticipated as a result, it is expected that there will be a proliferation of devices in the industry.

    “It is therefore essential for the Commission to ensure that the regulatory framework can accommodate such eventualities,” Danbatta said while expressing confidence that the review process will improve the standards and procedures for type approvals.

    TNG reports the public inquiry also covers Guidelines on Technical Specifications for the Deployment of Communications Infrastructure, Guidelines on Short Code Operation in Nigeria, Guidelines on Advertisements and Promotions and Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.

    The NCC boss said all five (5) regulatory instruments are existing instruments, which are being amended to reflect current realities.

    Earlier in her opening remarks, Ms. Helen Obi, Head, Telecoms Laws & Regulations, Legal & Regulatory Services Department of the NCC disclosed that the draft of all the regulatory instruments regulations have since been published on the Commission’s website.

    Ms. Obi disclosed that comments from external stakeholders have been received and reviewed while re-emphasizing that the public inquiry is an avenue that allows the Commission to incorporate the comments and suggestions of industry stakeholders, in the development of its regulatory instruments.

    “This process ensures that the regulatory instruments issued by the Commission are in line with the current realities in the industry.  In the last year, the Commission has held Public Inquiries on the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, the SIM Replacement Guidelines, Frequency Spectrum (Fees & Pricing, Etc.) Regulations, Annual Operating Levy Regulations, Guidelines on National Roaming, Guidelines on Colocation and Infrastructure Sharing and the Spectrum Trading Guidelines.

    “It is pertinent to state that of all the instruments listed above, the Commission has published Guidelines on National Roaming 2021, Guidelines on Colocation and Infrastructure Sharing 2021, SIM Replacement Guidelines 2022 and the Spectrum Trading Guidelines 2022; whilst the Annual Operating Levy Regulations and the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations have been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for gazetting, whilst the Frequency Spectrum (Fees & Pricing, Etc.) Regulations is at the final stages of the review process.

    “To build on the successes recorded last year in this regard, the Commission has decided to review five (5) regulatory instruments: Type Approval Regulations (as amended), Guidelines on Short Code Operation in Nigeria (as amended), Guidelines on Technical Specifications for the deployment of Communications Infrastructure (as amended), Guidelines on Advertisements and Promotions (as amended) and the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations (as amended).

    “The draft of all the regulatory instruments Regulations have since been published on the Commission’s website and comments from external Stakeholders have been received and reviewed. The above notwithstanding, we hope to receive additional comments from external stakeholders, which would ensure that the final regulatory instruments are such that will guarantee the progressive development of the industry,” Obi said.

  • NCC charges consumers on safeguarding telecom installations

    The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday charged telecom consumers to protect telecom installations in order to enhance quality and efficient service delivery.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, gave the charge during a Consumer Conversation Forum.

    Danbatta, who was represented by Helen Obi, NCC Head of Zonal Operations, said vandalisation of telecom installations and equipment remained one of the major challenges confronting the industry.

    He said that both the telecom service providers and consumers were duty bound, as critical stakeholders, to genuinely contribute their quota toward ensuring the desired stability and improvement in the sector.

    The NCC boss said the misconception about telecom antennas being hazardous to human as a result of radiation emission was far from the truth.

    According to him, a lot of breakthrough has been achieved in regulating the radiation level of telecom antennas so as not to be harmful to human.

    “A development that has been duly certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    “These antennas are installed far atop telecom masts at a level that the amount of radiation being emitted has been largely reduced for human habitation.

    “We are therefore using this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to inculcate the habit of safeguarding telecom installations rather than being subjected to unnecessary vandalisation,” he said.

    Danbatta said the Consumer Conversation was designed in line with NCC’s 8-point agenda of educating, protecting and empowering consumers toward ensuring growth and development in the sector.

    He urged telecom consumers who are dissatisfied with unsolicited messages from telecom providers to activate DO-NOT-DISTURB service on their mobile lines by sending “STOP” to 2442 short code.

    Consumers that wish to receive promotional messages are also asked to send “HELP” to the same short code of 2442 and choose from various options available.

    He charged consumers to always lodge their complaints with their respective service providers for redress and to also dial NCC’s 622 toll free short code when dissatisfied with response received.

    Danbatta said the commission had set aside an intervention fund to assist telecom un-served or under-served towns and communities in order to facilitate unhindered access to telecom operations in such localities.

     

  • Vandalism compromises FG’s efforts toward 30% broadband penetration – NCC

    Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned against vandalism of telecommunication infrastructure, stressing that the act is compromising Federal Government’s efforts toward achieving 30 per cent broadband penetration in 2018.

    Miss Helen Obi, the commission’s Head of Zonal Operations in Niger, said this at a one-day sensitisation programme on “Protection of Telecommunication Infrastructure” on Thursday.

    According to her, telecom infrastructure serve all citizens and should be owned collectively and everyone should work against its vandalism so that it can serve the purpose for which it is meant.

    She said “we are here to sensitise the people as stakeholders not only as consumers, including local governments and agencies of Federal Government on the need to protect telecom infrastructure.

    “This is actually key to the 8-point agenda of the NCC Chief Executive, Prof. Umar Danbatta, to ensuring quality service and broadband penetration.

    “This is because tampering with these infrastructure compromises the efforts of government to meet the 30 per cent broadband penetration target for 2018.”

    She said that so far, NCC had achieved 22 per cent broadband penetration and hoped to reach 30 per cent target.

    Dr Lawal Bello of the Department of Technical Standards and Network Integrity (TSNI) of the commission, said that the industry had continued to lose huge sums of money as a result of vandalism of telecom infrastructure.

    He said that the spate of destruction of telecom infrastructure across the country had slowed down the growth of services.

    Bello outlined some of the challenges facing the sector as willful damage of telecom infrastructure to extort money from service providers, and local communities or individuals barring technical staff of service providers from installing equipment or carrying out repair on existing systems.

    He added that diesel theft and digging up of cables for sale were also among the problems.

    The TSNI official said that NCC had been using various avenues such as the Consumer Outreach Programme, the Telecom Consumer Parliament to sensitise people and to educate them about the dangers associated with vandalism of such infrastructure.

    He called for speedy passing of the bill of Telecom Infrastructure and the need to declare it a national asset.

    Bello added that the protection of telecom infrastructure was not only NCC’s responsibility or that of security agencies, but of all patriotic citizens.

    Mr Abubakar Salisu, the Permanent Secretary, Human Resources, Office of the Head of Service in Niger, urged the commission to give incentives to states that have less cases of vandalism.

    According to him, incentives will encourage states to do more and make others to follow.

    NCC statistics shows that Niger has the least occurrence of telecommunication infrastructure vandalism.

    During the sensitisation programme, telecom users were given opportunity to ask questions and lay their complains, which the commission pledged to look into.

    In attendance were security agencies, community members and telecom operators and associations.

     

  • Our objective is to empower the consumer – Danbatta

    Our objective is to empower the consumer – Danbatta

    Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Management of the Commission declared 2017 as Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer to deepen stakeholder engagement in order to enhance the quality of consumer experience, and to empower the consumer through information and education.

    “It is consistent with our recognition of the importance of the Consumer in the telecom industry,” Danbatta emphasized yesterday in Niger state as Suleja hosts NCC Consumer Conversation.

    The Consumer Conversation is a programme in the framework of the Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer campaigns essentially implemented by the Commission’s Department of Zonal Operations.

    The Campaigns’ strategic initiatives focus on consumer activation of the Do-Not-Disturb Code 2442 to stop unsolicited SMS from operators.

    In this instance, Danbatta explained that “a telecom consumer who does not wish to receive unsolicited messages from his service provider should simply text STOP to the short code 2442”.

    He advised that “Where a consumer wishes to receive promotional messages on specific issues, the Consumer should send HELP to 2442 to choose his preference(s) from the options available”.

    Other initiatives include consumers’ utilization of the NCC Toll Free Line 622 to report complaints relating to any unresolved issues which they had earlier reported to their service providers.

    The EVC explained that the Commission also designed the Campaigns to create conversations around its activities, particularly its efforts to continually improve the Quality of Service (QoS); and to educate consumers and all stakeholders about Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) radiation.

    “The Nigerian Communications Commission has repeatedly stated the position of studies on EMF, including those conducted under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO).

    “None of the studies has clearly established a correlation between the type and levels of radiation in telecoms operation (especially telecom masts) and human health,” the NCC boss stated.

    He expressed NCC’s gratitude to the consumers and other participants for their presence and resourceful contributions to the success of the Conversation.

    Danbatta was represented by NCC’s Head of Zonal Operations, Helen Obi at the event.