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Tag: NCC

  • Deployment of 5G network will foster economic development – NCC

    Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has called for regulations and successful deployment of 5G network to foster economic development.

    Danbatta made the call on the side-lines of a workshop themed “Future of Industry, Driving Innovation and Growth’’ organised by Global System Mobile Association (GSMA) in collaboration with NCC in Abuja.

    The workshop brought together leaders from across the telecommunications industry and policymakers to discuss future regulations in the industry and push for consensus on reforms.

    “The telecom industry is a key enabler of productivity across economies and societies.

    “It is not only a significant contributor to economic activities of a Nation, but also towards the growth of other sectors of the economy.

    “The proposed 5G networks are the next generation of connectivity in the telecommunications industry, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smart phones and other devices than ever before,’’ he said.

    According to the NCC boss, it is imperative that issues of telecommunications be taken seriously to foster innovation and growth in the industry.

    Danbatta noted that the factors hindering growth in the sector were policies, regulations and performance of networks and called for adequate measures to address them.

    Similarly, Mr Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA said Nigeria had always been in the forefront of development and should play a leadership position in the deployment of 5G services.

    “Mobile connectivity has already improved the welfare of millions of Nigerians, opening doors to new digital possibilities and powering the country’s economic development.

    “For Nigeria to take full advantage of the next phase of its digital transformation, it is vital that collaboration between industry and government enables the right policy environment for millions more to benefit from ultra-fast mobile broadband.

    “If policies do not keep pace with the needs of society and technological innovation, there is a risk that citizens will be left behind and productivity and competitiveness will suffer,’’ Goodluck said.

    5G network is expected to support a significantly faster mobile broadband speed and heavier data usage than previous generations while enabling full potential of the internet of things.

    Stakeholders at the workshop include Mr Sunday Dare, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Oluwatosin Bamidele, Chief Technical and Information Officer of Ntel, among others.

     

  • NCC threatens to sanction erring telecom service providers

    The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), on Thursday, said it would sanction service providers who fail to abide by the regulations of the commission in dealing with their consumers.

    This is coming as the commission reaffirmed its commitment in protecting telecom consumers from unwholesome practices from their network providers.

    The NCC’s Director of Consumers Affairs Bureau, Mrs Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, gave the warning at the 44th edition of the NCC Consumers Town Hall Meeting with telecom consumers and service providers held in Oguta, Imo.

    Speaking on the theme; “Using Information and Education as Tools for Consumers Empowerment and Protection,” Onwuegbuchulam said service providers must ensure that consumers get quality service, value for money spent and timely redress of complaints.

    She also urged network providers to shun unwholesome practices, reiterating that erring companies must be sanctioned.

    “You must engage your consumers on constant empowerment through education to fortify them in making good choices,’’ the NCC official stressed.

    She said the meeting was targeted at bringing together telecom consumers in the rural areas with the network operators to proffer solutions to their problems.

    According to her, it was also designed to ensure that consumers have value for their money.

    The NCC director listed some of the unwholesome practices by service providers as unsolicited text massages and calls, failure to roll over unused data and automatic renewal of data, and VAS without consent of the subscriber.

    She, however, said NCC had taken adequate measures to checkmate erring telecom operators by developing DND Short Code to solve unsolicited text massages controversy.

    Onwuegbuchulam said that the commission had developed a service Toll free line for consumers to lay down their complaints.

    In her remark, the representative of GLO Mobile, Chinwe Ejiofor, assured GLO consumers of quality services, adding that the company had been interfacing with its customers.

    Some participants at the programme and telecom consumers said NCC should roll out more programmes to protect telecom consumers against unnecessary extortion.

     

  • Active lines increase to 165m in October – NCC

    Active lines increase to 165m in October – NCC

    Active telephone lines in Nigeria increased from 162,058,918 in September to 165,239,443 in October 2018, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

    The commission made this known in its Monthly Subscriber/Operator Data published on its website on Thursday.

    The regulatory body said that the lines increased by 3,180,525 from the 162,058,918 recorded in September.

    It said that of the 165,239,443 active numbers, the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network recorded 164,865,417 in the month under review.

    The GSM network had an increase of 3,179,670 customers as against 161,685,747 recorded in September.

    According to NCC, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators have 126,032 active subscribers in October, hence, having a decrease of 237 from the 126,269 customers in September.

    It said that the Fixed Wireless Network retained the 26,865 subscribers it had in September.

    NCC said that the Fixed Wired network had 108,997 active users in October, showing a decrease of 1,796 from the 110,793 subscribers recorded in September.

    The telecommunications umpire said the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) operators had 112,132 active users in October.

    It showed that there was an increase of 2,888 subscribers, compared with 109,244 users the VOIP service providers recorded in September.

    It said that teledensity of the telecommunications industry in October was 118.03, giving an increase of 2.27 from the 115.76 recorded in September.

    Teledensity is defined as the number of active telephone connections per one hundred (100) inhabitants living within an area.

    The teledensity is calculated based on a national population of 140 million, according to the 2006 last Census Population figures.

     

  • NCC urges telecoms operators to boost consumer experience

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on telecommunications operators to ensure that they boost consumer experience in the industry.

    The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, NCC, Mr Sunday Dare, made the call in Lagos, during the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) 4th Quarter Open Meeting.

    Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB), NCC, Mrs Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, Dare said that a memorable consumer experience would ensure the adoption of technology in the country.

    The commissioner said that the Nigerian communications industry had reached a level of maturity both in terms of adoption, competitiveness and technology deployments.

    He said that the focus of the industry must change to accommodate new realities.

    According to him, with the industry’s current level of growth, focus must change from merely providing good customer service to assuring superior customer experience.

    “In this new era, customer’s Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) mean little if we cannot achieve the attitudinal and behavioural loyalty which ensures that consumers are confident to embrace technology to tap into the life-changing opportunities.

    “These are opportunities which will guarantee that our country develops and that our youths are able to compete with their peers throughout the world.

    “So we must ensure that the service delivery framework encourage their use, rather than pursue reactive policies.

    “In other words, the challenge before us now, which is ‘the challenge of consumer experience’, is to ensure that we proactively remove all impediments to technology adoption.

    “The challenge is that we identify Information and Communication Technology (lCT) pain points; even before they occur and that we address them before they become an issue.

    “All of these we must do so that our citizens can enjoy faster, safer and more productive use of new technologies and service delivery models. This is the totality of consumer experience, ‘’ he said.

    Dare said that smart service providers should not be told that sound ‘customer experience’ was a differentiating factor which guaranteed them competitive advantage.

    He said that the industry was in the middle of a global evolution, which continuously challenged old ways of doing things; hence, disruptive innovations were now being brought into the mainstream.

    The Immediate Past Chairman of ICAF, Prof. Felicia Monye, said that consumer advocacy had migrated from customer service to customer experience.

    Monye said that in times past, it was thought that rendering good customer service was sufficient to achieve and retain patronage.

    She said that today’s commerce had experienced remarkable changes including competition, globalisation and enhanced level of consumer awareness and expectations.

    According to her, these factors have necessitated the need to explore other ways of relating with customers.

    “A prominent identified way of achieving this is through moving from customer service to customer experience.

    “Customer experience measures how customers feel about a company in totality and includes the emotional, physical, psychological connection customers have with a brand.

    “It is not a one-off interaction but rather includes the entire customer life cycle and every touch point a customer has with a product or service,’’ she said.

     

  • Digital Bridge Institute to run academic programmes

    Digital Bridge Institute to run academic programmes

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) is set to run approved academic innovative programmes that will transform the economy.

    Danbatta said this during the presentation of the Expert Group on the Development of Appropriate Blueprint/Curriculum for ICT Innovation Research Programmes in Nigeria in Abuja.

    He said the institute had all it took to run programmes that the country could leverage on to build the economy.

    “We must develop programmes that would in turn transform the economy as well as empower citizens without recourse to government jobs.

    “If all of us rely on government for employment then government will be overwhelmed; the responsibility of government is to provide key services, water, electricity, roads – the engine room of the economy in any country is the private sector.

    “DBI has shown how to do it by introducing the national innovation diploma programmes and I believe that they will introduce more of such programmes immigrating from the short courses into programmes that will impact more on the lives of citizens,” he said.

    Danbatta said Nigeria was right to give attention to Information Communication Technology (ICT) in order to leverage on the power of ICT to transform not only governance but key sectors of the economy, governance, finance, transportation and health.

    “We can only achieve this transformation by building a critical mass of ICT adoption and use, training the human capital that is needed in order to ensure the trainees innovate applications that will further empower citizens economically and be able to socially transform the country.”

    Dr Ernest Ndukwe, the Chairman of the panel, said ICT plays a pivotal role in powering the development of the modern world and to choose to ignore it was to remain in the doldrums of underdevelopment.

    According to him, the World Forum in its 2017 Global Information Technology Report stated that `ICT are vectors of economic and social transformation by improving access to services, enhancing connectivity, creating business and employment opportunities’’.

    He added that the Heads of States in the United Nations’ Declaration at the beginning of the new Millennium resolved to develop and implement strategies that give young people a real chance to find decent and productive work.

    “This is also in line with the leadership role of the Commission in ICT capacity building to promote digital literacy and support the development of manpower for the ICT sector of the economy.

    “The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) which has been a most important channel for NCC to facilitate ICT training and development has trained over 50,000 participants since inception.

    “It is in that spirit that the panel reaffirmed it as a veritable vehicle for furthering the broad goals articulated in the recommendations in the panel report.

    “DBI can become the hub and the catalyst for ICT innovation research programmes in the country enabling skills acquisition, tech start-ups and the much needed job creation for the digital economy of today,’’ Ndukwe said.

    Speaking on sustainable funding for DBI, the chairman noted that similar successful training and manpower development institutions around the world do not the sustain their operations from internally generated income alone.

    “It is our recommendation that sustainable funding can be guaranteed for DBI if a small proportion of the Annual Operating Levy (AOL) is permanently earmarked for its operations but within a framework that ensures accountability.

    “The funding mechanism would guarantee that DBI is able to sustain the operations of the ICT hubs and innovation centres and achieve the objective for which they are setup.

    “It is also proposed that these hubs and innovation centres would be primarily devoted to software development and engineering,’’ he said.

    Sen. Olabiyi Durojaiye, Board Chairman, NCC, while commending the panel, said the assignment given to the panel was premised on the commitment of the commission to the establishment of ICT learning and education in the country.

    Durojaiye noted that the DBI had basic facilities to house ICT research centres in Lagos and Abuja, and the focus was to actualize its mandate in accordance with the ideals of its founding fathers.

    This, he said, included identifying the `Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg’ of Nigeria who are currently roaming the streets in search of salaried jobs.

    “The challenge is for our youths to be major actors in the world Fourth Industrial Revolution by discovering, innovating and inventing solutions that will address current and future needs of mankind.

    “Nigeria will thereby earn more foreign exchange and respect in the comity of nations. Therefore the panel was to look into the development of an ICT curriculum for Training and Research programme in each proposed centre.

    “Identify and profile the current state of DBI physical infrastructure and existing gaps, as well identify utility requirements for the centres, among other things,”he said.

    The board chairman assured the panel that the outcome of the report would receive serious attention, adding that the commission will work in conjunction with DBI toward implementing the recommendations of the panel.

    The panel came up with 18 recommendations and membership comprising of Dr Ernest Ndukwe as the Chairman; Titi Omo-Ettu, member, and Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, member.

    Other members are Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano, Dr Ike Adinde, Mr Johnson Asinugwo and Mr Shehu Olaniyan.

     

  • 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.

     

  • Why Nigeria may not achieve 30% broadband penetration in 2018

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the country may not achieve the 30 per cent broadband penetration target by the end of 2018, due to some challenges.

    The Head, Technical Standard and Network Integrity, Mr Bako Wakil said this during the ”Broadband Engagement Forum” in Lagos.

    Wakil, who is also the Alternate Chairman, Broadband Implementation and Monitoring Committee, said that the challenges militating against 30 per cent broadband penetration include high Right of Way (RoW) charges and multiple taxation.

    He cited other challenges as multiple regulation and delays in obtaining site acquisition permits.

    Wakil said that in spite of the challenges, the commission was still determined in its pursuit of the target, as the country had achieved 22 per cent broadband penetration.

    According to him, the National Broadband Plan (NBP) provides the roadmap and timelines to deliver a five-fold increase in broadband penetration, that is, from six per cent in 2013 to 30 per cent in 2018.

    ”Execution of the plan is to provide available, accessible and affordable broadband services to all citizens.

    ”The plan is to transform the Nigerian economy to a digital knowledge-based economy for national development,” he said.

    Wakil said that the commission had engaged the National Executive Council (NEC) and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), proffering solutions to the challenges.

    He said that some governors were charging as high as N5,000 per linear metre for RoW, some charge N500, while the federal government charged N145.

    According to him, broadband infrastructure is critical for the socio-economic transformation of the country.

    ”In order to address the deficiency of infrastructure, the commission has licensed six of the seven Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to deploy broadband infrastructure across the country.

    ”In order to succeed, we urge you – State Executives – to consider our recommendations and mitigate the various challenges plaguing the effective penetration of broadband in the country.

    ”There is the need to harmonise Right of Way charges on state government highways with the federal at the cost of N145 per metre.

    ”State governments should assign single point for approving RoW application and limit the approval process to a maximum of 30 working days.

    ”States should mandate installation of utility ducts on road shoulders and buildings during construction and rehabilitation,” he said.

    Wakil called on the governors to stop multiple taxation and eliminate multiple regulation, so as to boost broadband penetration.

    Mr Tony Ikemefuna, Head, Fixed Networks and Converged Services, NCC said that broadband in the Nigerian context was an internet experience where the user could access the most demanding content in real time at a minimum speed of 1.5 Megabit per second (Mbps).

    According to Ikemefuna, broadband is an enabler of economy and the cornerstone of national competitiveness.

    He said that statistics had shown that 10 per cent broadband penetration would lead to 1.3 per cent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country.

    The Head, Regulatory Services, Mainone, Mr Ifeloju Alakija, said that the InfraCos were to bridge the fibre broadband infrastructure gap and accelerate Fourth Generation (4G) services in the country.

    Alakija said that in 2015, Bitflux, MainOne and IHS were licensed through an open bid to build open access fiber within their zones.

    ”Three years later, the impact of the National Broadband plan is yet to be felt as the licensed InfraCos have not been granted approval to start work,” he said.

     

  • NCC decries telecoms operators’ non-compliance to AOL

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has decried the non-compliance of telecommunications operators to the payment of the Annual Operating Levy (AOL).

    The Director, Licensing and Authorisation, NCC, Ms Funlola Akiode, said during the Annual Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Selected Licence Categories on Monday in Lagos, that such act was a breach of operators’ obligation.

    Represented by the Head, Post Licensing Unit, NCC, Mr Chukwuma Azikiwe, Akiode said that non-compliance to terms, conditions and obligations was of concern to the commission.

    ”With respect to compliance with Licence terms, conditions and obligations, our recent audit checks revealed that some licensees were not in compliance with obligations such as payment of Annual Operating Levy (AOL).

    ”Some operators are not in compliance with approved Individual Consumer Code of Practice (ICCP), Type Approval of equipment, submission of statistical data and information on their change of address.

    ”Another important concern is in the area of licence renewal. We also observed the issue of delay in licence renewal by licensees whose licences have expired or about to expire.

    ”They erroneously relied on the aspect of the licence document which states that their licence would be automatically renewed.

    ”I wish to reiterate that renewal of expired licence is not automatic but subject to fulfilment of obligations,” she said.

    According to her, renewal of licence is subject to being up to date in payment of AOL, development and publication of approved ICCP.

    Akiode said that licence renewal was subjected to updated type approval of telecommunications equipment, payment of spectrum and numbering where applicable, among others.

    She urged licensees to take advantage of the forum to sought clarifications on any issue regarding their licence obligations and renewal processes and procedures.

    Akiode said that the regulatory body had been recently inundated with complaints by subscribers on issues such as the non-compliance with directions on data roll-over and automatic renewal of data service.

    She said that there were complaints on discrepancies in the advertised data speed and actual speed experienced by consumers after subscribing to a service.

    ”The commission is fully aware and committed to discharging its mandate, especially in facilitating a conducive telecommunication environment and guiding the industry to sustain the achievement already recorded in the industry.

    ”It can only achieve this with the cooperation and support of the licensees, with respect to compliance with extant laws and subsidiary legislations,” the director said.

     

  • NCC advocates affordable LTE mobile devices

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) device manufacturers to produce affordable Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile devices.

    Mr Bako Wakil, the Head, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, NCC, made the call on the sideline of the 2nd Type Approval Industry Working Group Meeting in Lagos.

    In telecommunication, LTE is a technology standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile devices and data terminals.

    It offers higher bandwidth, meaning greater connection speed, and better underlying technology for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and multimedia streaming.

    Wakil said that there was the need for affordable LTE phones, as the ones available in the Nigerian market were expensive.

    According to him, affordable devices will ensure that Nigerians receive the Fourth Generation (4G) technology experience.

    “Operators are offering 4G services in some major cities in Nigeria now but if your device is not 4G compliant, you will not get that 4G experience.

    “There are 4G devices but many people cannot afford them because they are expensive. It is beyond ordinary person’s reach.

    “We are appealling to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) – Ericsson, Huawei, Tecno, to produce 4G compliant phones at cheaper rates, looking at the size of Nigerian market,” he said.

    Wakil said that more LTE devices were being submitted to the commission for Type Approval.

    He said that some of the challenges of the LTE phones in the country were that OEM do not have repair centres and the warranty agreements for the phones were not clear enough.

    Wakil said that NCC was usually neutral on the type of technologies that telecommunications operators deploy to provide their services to customers.

    He said that according to the European Commission, technology neutrality is the requirement for national regulatory authorities to take the utmost account of the desirability of making regulation technologically neutral,

    According to him, the commission neither imposes nor discriminates in favour of the use of a particular type of technology.

    “It is preferred that the market determine what technologies are appropriate for its development,” he said.

     

  • NCC partners academia on research, innovation

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has directed funds to universities to encourage innovation in the country.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated this on Wednesday in Lagos, during the Second Roundtable with the Academia, Industry stakeholders and others, for the South West Region.

    Represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Mr Ubale Maska, Danbatta said that the commission had partnered universities to boost research and development.

    He said that the advancement of technology across several spheres of human endeavour had created new industries, opportunities, knowledge areas and challenges.

    This, according to him, had increased the speed at which alignment between the different stakeholders in the economy should take place, to ensure that no aspect of development was left behind.

    “Innovation is seen as a way to break out from the old and embrace the new technologies.

    “’Innovate or Die’’ is a slogan used by many business enterprises. In order to survive, the industry needs to embrace innovation.

    “Innovation to telecommunication companies can be a linear machine to deliver what they deliver best.

    “Every telecommunications provider will aspire to transform into that new agile future-looking telecommunication company,’’ Dabatta said.

    He said being aware of this increasing phenomenon, the commission among other things, directed funds to boosting research and development in universities across the country to encourage innovation.

    “I am glad to say that our universities are making good progress in Information and Communication Technology research and development,’’ he said.

    According to Danbatta, the academia is a key driver of innovation in all spheres of human endeavour.

    He said that the ideas, inventions and improvements that emanated from the academia were required by the industry for improved efficiencies and productivity.

    Danbatta said that there was increased delivery of speed by various broadband technologies like 4G and 5G technologies.

    He said advancement in processor and other electronics technologies had led to huge opportunities and risks.

    This, he said, necessitates collaboration between academia, industry and regulators to ensure the technologies can be properly harnessed and standards built in such a way that is beneficial to all stakeholders.

    Maska, who was in turn represented by Mr Bako Wakil, Deputy Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, NCC, said the NCC was seeking to promote synergy between academia, industry and the regulator.

    He said this was to facilitate innovation, industry growth and sustainability.

    Maska said that technology had become the driving force that was unleashing new ways of doing things in an unprecedented manner.

    According to him, how the telecommunication sector advances and how it does so in a sustainable and ethical way should be the concern of all.

    “As a consequence, the NCC’s vision of what this forum should achieve is that Nigerians become an integral part of the global ICT community; contributing our quota to advances in ICT globally.

    “’Over the years, the industry has experienced a remarkable growth. Recent forecasts by Insight Research Corp. shows that worldwide, telecommunications industry revenue will reach 2.4 trillion dollars in 2019.

    “Consumer demand for the latest wireless devices and higher bandwidth are driving the growth in telecommunications service, while the shift to cloud-based solutions is enriching the value of the networks.

    “A large percentage of business activities now depend on these mobile devices and network applications for everything from electronic commerce to navigation to consumer service.

    “Success I believe usually comes with talent, willpower and hard work in equal measures. The academia has all of these in abundance,” he said.