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Tag: NCC

  • Internet users hit 94.8 million in November – NCC

    The internet users increased marginally to 94 .8 million in November, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said.

    The NCC made this disclosure in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for November 2017 on its website on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Glo gained more internet subscribers during the month, while 9mobile was the big loser.

    The data also showed that overall, internet users increased by to 94, 818,553 in November from 93,887,184 in October showing an increase of 931, 369.

    The data breakdown revealed that MTN gained 428, 596 new internet users increasing its subscription in November to 33,426,931 from 32,998,335 in October.

    It showed that 9mobile lost 180, 044 internet users in November decreasing its subscription to 11,407.180 as against October when it recorded 11,587,224 in October.

    It said Airtel gained the most with 632, 506 new internet users in November amounting to 23, 074,163 users as against 22,441,657 users in October.

    The data showed that Globacom also gained 50,311new users in November as the figure recorded was 26,910,279 as against 26,859,968 it had in October.

     

  • Active mobile lines increased to 142 million as at November – NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the number of active mobile phone lines in the country has risen to 142 million as at November, 2017 from 140 million in October.

    The figure shows an increase of 1, 550.022 lines.

    NCC disclosed this in its monthly Subscriber Operator Date posted on its website.

    The commission said that the active lines moved to 141, 900.405 compared to 140,350.383 in October 2017.

    The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) still had 217,566 users in November as recorded in October.

    The report said that the number of fixed wired/wireless in November was 137,190 against 137,216 in October, a decrease of 26 lines.

    According to NCC, the number of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) was 64, 949 in November while it was 61,488 in October, an increase of 3,461.

    Teledensity for November was101.66 against 100.55 recorded in October .

    Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area. It varies widely across the nation.

    “The number of connected mobile lines in November 2017 rose to 237,010.282 compared to 236,714,473 in October, an increase of 2, 958.09

    “The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for connected lines for November 2017 was 3,586,095 same with October,” it said.

    The report said that the number of fixed wired/wireless for connected lines in November was 342,792 compared to 342,641 in October, an increase of 151.

    Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for connected lines in November was 239.091, while October had 226,254, an increase of 12,837.

     

  • NCC clamps down on 3 telecom coys over illegal operations

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said on Wednesday that it has clamped down on three companies for operating illegally in the country’s telecommunications market.

    Mr Chukwuemeka Obi, the Principal Manager, NCC’s Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department, made this known to newsmen after two days enforcement in Lagos.

    Obi said that the action followed the reports of its surveillance team.

    According to him, the affected companies are Axon Integrated Services, located on Diya Street, Gbagada; Survenet Integrated Ltd situated on Bayo Ajayi Street, Agidingbi and Strem Concepts at Shaha Akowonjo.

    “We got information that some companies in the telecommunication sector in Lagos are operating illegally without the required authorisation,’’ he said.

    Obi said that the three companies were into services such as installation of masts, towers and illegal vehicle tracking.

    He said that Axon Integrated was licensed by the NCC to sell mobile phones and Private Automatic Branch eXchange (PABX) equipment sales.

    Obi said that the company had extended its into installations, which its current licence does not cover.

    “We have given Axon one month within which it should come to NCC headquarters in Abuja to regularise its operations and obtain the required authorisation, failure of which will attract serious sanctions,’’ Obi said.

    He said that Strem Concepts had been operating illegally without any operating licence from the regulatory body.

    “Strem was found to be operating Automated Vehicle Tracking Services (AVTS) illegally.

    “In our earlier enforcement in Lagos, Strem was found guilty for operating illegally.

    “We sealed the company, asking them to come to the commission’s office in Abuja to get an official licence to operate, and the licensing process has started, but not yet concluded.

    “Unfortunately, Strem went ahead to unseal itself without the commission’s permission.

    “We have come again to seal it, confiscated its radio equipment and asked it to report to Abuja to finalise its licensing process,’’ Obi said.

    In respect of Survenet, he said that the company was guilty of illegal installation of towers and other services, which it was not authorised to venture into.

    Obi, however, said that for the two days that the enforcement lasted, Survenet’s office was locked.

    He said the enforcement team would ensure that the long arm of the law definitely caught up with the company.

    Obi said that the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, under Section 31, stipulates that no firm should undertake communications services without prior authorisation of the commission.

    He said that a surveillance conducted by the commission showed that a number of companies in Lagos were offering communications services without requisite authorisation, hence, the clampdown.

    Obi said that the enforcement was to prosecute the perpetrators or ask them to regularise their licensing with the commission, as the case may be.

    According to him, the NCA 2003 has been developed and categorised some telecommunications services under certain category of licences for individuals who wants to undertake communications services.

    “More or less, they are into installation of masts, setting up equipment and even radio that go beyond the scope of the licences and authorisation they have.

    “We have those that also use spectrum illegally; we want to assure them that we will go after them to ensure that the culprits are brought to book,’’ Obi said.

    He also warned companies in the sector to follow the legal process for obtaining licence to operate in any segment of the country.

    Obi said that NCC would continue to ensure that a level-playing field was created for all operators, while ensuring that the nation was not short-changed by any illegal player

  • NCC calls for collaboration with CBN, others to fight against e-fraud in Nigeria

    Mr Ubale Maska, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Service, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on Tuesday called for collaboration with the CBN and other banks to fight electronic banking fraud.

    Maska, who was represented by Mr Fidelix Onah, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity of the commission made the call at a one day workshop with the theme: “Electronic Banking Fraud in Nigeria- Challenges and Way Forward” in Port Harcourt.

    He said that NCC would collaborate with CBN and other banks to tackle the issue of electronic banking fraud in the country.

    “When banks brought complaints of various electronic fraud on customers’ accounts, then CBN brought the issue up in a meeting with the commission, we saw the need to collaborate with CBN in fighting against electronic fraud by the fraudsters.

    “NCC and CBN agreed together to form a committee that looked into the matter and saw some shortfalls that would be addressed to tackle some challenges that make the consumers to be trapped by the fraudsters.

    “One of the conclusions was to create a consumers awareness campaign to let the public know how to avoid the tricks of these fraudsters,” he said.

    Mr Adewale Banjoko, a Principal Fraud Consultant said that NCC and CBN should have processes and laws to know their workers’ profile to make sure they did not share consumers important information to the fraudsters.

    “There should be thorough check on know your staff as well as know your customers because some fraudsters get their information through some workers in offices and from commissions.

    “There should be serious punishable laws guiding the banks and telecommunications to punish any person who shares consumers’ information to fraudsters.

    “There should be thorough investigations to trace and track fraudsters who are caught in such act,” he said.

    Banjoko said that most frauds were also carried out in business outlets through SIM swaps and SIM registrations by customers who use pictures of different people while registering their SIMs.

    He called on NCC to provide an alternative means for subscribers to report their challenges when they noticed network failure on their mobile phones for days to make sure they tracked any act of fraud on their information.

    Mrs Tosin Kanu, the Head of Operations, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) said that banks needed collaboration from NCC to tackle the issue of SIM swap facing the consumers.

    Kanu said that banks were facing the challenge of customers complain of fraudsters sending massages to their phones on BVN and other massages that made them victims of fraudsters.

    She called on NCC to put in place measures that would help to curb electronic fraud in the country.

     

  • NCC doles out N17m to winners of tennis championship

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given out N17 million to winners of its Tennis Cup 2017 competition.

    The Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said at the grand finale of the tournament in Lagos that the competition had given the commission satisfaction and fulfillment.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the tournament which started in July featured 12 teams.

    Team Civil Defence defeated Muller 4 – 0, to win the NCC’s Tennis Cup 2017 competition, hence, carting the star prize of N7million.

    Team Muller came second, and went home with N5 million, Team Offikwu won the third prize of N3 million, while Team Ndoma-Egba came fourth, winning N2 million cash prize.

    Danbatta represented by the Director, Research and Development, NCC, Mrs Iyabo Sholanke, said that the championship had been dubbed the greatest and biggest addition to Nigeria’s sports since 1960.

    “We are proud to have used this opportunity to engage a number of Nigerian youths in very fruitful and engaging enterprise with a bright future outlook.

    “We are even prouder to have taken quality tennis to different locations in the country and to see the players improving by the day, due to the regular competitions the league offers,’’ he said.

    He said that it was gratifying to note that some young Nigerians who were part of the tennis cup had got scholarships and sponsorships to tennis academies abroad.

    He said that they would further their studies and their professional tennis careers in those academies.

    “The NCC Tennis Cup is a team tennis competition that is open to all, including the very best male and female tennis players in Nigeria.

    “I am glad that the cream of the best and promising Nigerian male and female players are all participating in the league and that a good number of them are now ranked on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour.

    “These are some of our expectations and we hope that the players will take full advantage of this NCC Tennis League Cup to excel,’’ Danbatta said.

    He said that NCC’s major objective in promoting the competition was to contribute to the overall development of the nation through sports, particularly, tennis.

    According to him, tennis has the potential to engage, motivate, entertain and keep the youth physically fit and mentally focused.

    He said that above all, tennis created opportunities for the players to earn a decent living and a chance to be famous.

    TheNewsGuru also reports that the grand finale featured special tribute to the late Dr Alex Ekwueme, a former Vice-President of Nigeria and special awards to some players of the competition, as sponsored by MTN Nigeria.

    The corporate relations executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr Tobe Okigbo, said that the company’s involvement in the competition was in line the value addition and youth’s talent development agenda of MTN.

    “We like supporting value addition projects. In this case (NCC Tennis Cup competition), we saw that what NCC is doing and it makes a lot of sense to be part of it.

    “We saw it as an opportunity to support ambitious young Nigerians, especially, in developing their skills and talents,’’ Okigbo said.

    The 12 teams that participated are: Team Ofikwu, Team Ndoma-Egba, Team Goshen, Team CBN Fututos, Team Yetade and Team Tech-Vibe.

    Others are Team Civil Defence, Team Kolatari, Team Muller, Team Opti Web, Team VGC Lions and Team Qualifier.

     

  • Why NCC is dedicating 2018 as year for Improve Quality of Service

    The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerians Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, says the Commission will dedicate 2018 as a year for Improve Quality of Service.

    Prof. Danbatta dropped the hint while declaring open the USPF, GSMA Operators, and Stakeholders Universal Access Roundtable held on Monday in Abuja.

    He said the decision was reached after recording a successful outing in 2017, which is dedicated to ‘The Consumer’.

    To achieve this, he said the Commission had put measures in place to address the infrastructure deficit in the system, provide more spectrum and address the challenge of Right of Way (RoW).

    ‘‘NCC intends to declare 2018 as the year we hope to improve quality of service. After the success we have recorded by dedicating 2017 to the Consumer, we are poised to declare 2018 for improved quality of service in the country.

    ‘‘We cannot do this without addressing deficit in infrastructure, without providing more spectrum, without talking about RoW and without containing the challenge of the use of unregistered Sim cards that are now in circulation which is bringing additional burden on the networks.

    ‘‘There are a whole lots of issues we hope the campaign can achieve in the same way and manner dedicating 2017 as a year of Consumer has achieved result.

    ‘‘In 2018, we will see quality of service improve and we are coming out with programmes that will be geared towards improving Quality of service in the year to come.’’

    The round table, the first of its kind, was aimed at strengthening the synergy between Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and operators in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

    It was also aimed to facilitate attainment of the objectives of the Universal Access System in Nigeria, which are to promote greater social equity and inclusion for the people of Nigeria and contribute to national economic, social and cultural development of Nigeria.

    The EVC said past efforts by the Commission to overcome the challenges of access and inclusion in universal access had witnessed some results but a lot in the rural areas is still left unattained to.

    Danbatta, who lamented about scarcity of funding in service provision said there were a lot of access gaps in the country mainly in the rural areas, the unserved as well as underserved areas.

    ‘‘So far, we have managed to reduce the number from 207 to 97 and we have clusters of these gaps, we know where they are. But the funding needed to bridge these gaps is becoming a huge challenge, not to NCC alone but to operators.

    ‘‘It therefore requires all sectors, government and stakeholders, while NCC should provide the interventions. The operators should also join so that we have a holistic approach in place to really get rid of this access gaps.

    ‘‘We have close to 40 million Nigerians that have no access to telecommunication access because of these gaps.

    ‘‘Meeting Governors and prevailing on them to relax the legislations on Right of Way is very important but equally, funding is needed to ensure within the shortest possible time, that access gaps are addressed.

    ‘‘Without doing this, the very essence of establishing USPF will be defeated because, it says ensuring equitable ICT services to all corners of the country as well as ensuring inclusion in the provision of services,’’ he added.

    The EVC emphasised collocation for operators, said the adoption makes economic sense for operators to save cost and improve quality of service.

    ‘‘I think the regulatory framework must be very clear. There should be collocation. The whole idea is to ensure operators collocate in shared services and therefore spend less than spending huge sum of money to provide services.

    ‘‘It makes a lot of economic sense to collocate, it does not make any sense for operators to resist collocation because it was in the first place in order to make life better for them improve infrastructure and improve quality of service.’’

    To increase the current active mobile broadband subscription in the country, he said the commission had set a new target per 100 from 20.95 to 50 percent in 2020, which is similar to the 30% for Nigerians National Broadband Plan (2013-2018) vision for Nigeria.

    In his own address, Senior Director, Policy Engagement, Government and Regulatory Affairs at GSMA, Fraser Graham, said the roundtable was a product of long discussions with the NCC’s management and some members of the organization.

    He said there is no one solution to addressing access gap but requires critical look into the demand and supply side of the coin through digital training and awareness, especially in the developing countries.

    ‘‘We have discussed with the EVC last year and some of our members about the operation of the USPF, how it was working and some suggestion on how it can be improved.

    ‘‘We decided that the best way will be for the whole of the stakeholders to be in the same room discuss positions and see how we can improve the universal access coverage.

    ‘‘There is no one solution to the challenges, but GSMS research has identified scenarios that can be looked at. You need to look at the supply side, how can we improve technology, how can we can improve services and make them more efficient.

    ‘‘On the demand side, focus should be how can we increase demand services, digital literacy and training children at early age, top be able to use digital technology and smart phones and increase demand for e-Government services as well as digital illiteracy. Develop local content in local language and in ways that are relevant to them and viable for commercial operators.’’

    In his remarks, a former President of ATCON, Engr. Lanre Ajayi said the roundtable was important and was coming at the right time.

    He said the operators before now never care about collaboration with the USPF but with this roundtable, the collaboration was going to make huge impact in bridging access gaps.

    ‘‘That will certainly excite them a bout the activities of USPF, and I think it is a good development and going to make a big impact in the operation of the operators and USPF.’’

    Stakeholders present at the roundtable include: representatives of MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile and Main One Cable among others.

     

  • Claims that telecom masts cause cancer untrue – NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, disputed claims that the telecommunication masts cause cancer and other health problems.

    This was revealed by the Zonal Controller of the NCC, South-East, Mrs. Emilia Nwokoro during a consumer conversation forum organised by the Commission in Enugu.

    She noted that several studies have been conducted to ascertain whether telecommunication masts pose health risks.

    Nwokoro explained that the researchers did not provide any evidence that the telecommunication infrastructure was harmful to human beings.

    “A number of studies have investigated the effects of radiofrequency fields on brain electrical activity, cognitive function, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure in volunteers.

    “To date, research does not suggest any consistent evidence of adverse health effects from exposure to radiofrequency fields at levels below those that cause tissue heating.

    “In line with the position of the International Telecommunications Union supported by International Council on Non-ionizing, Radiation Protection and the World Health Organisation, NCC has maintained that as at today, there is no conclusive evidence to show correlation between the electromagnetic fields from telecommunications masts and health risk to individuals around these infrastructures,” she said.

    Nwokoro assured that NCC would continue to educate the public on issues concerning public health and telecommunication services.

  • NCC seizes pirated works worth N926m

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) says it has seized pirated materials worth about N926 million in the last eight months in Lagos metropolis.

    Mr. Obi Ezeilo, the Zonal Manager of the Commission, Lagos Office, said this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.

    He said that the seizures were made between January and August 2017 in several locations within the city.

    “NCC has scaled up its enforcement activities in the last eight months and we have seized pirated items to the tune of over N926 million, removed from containers at Apapa Port, warehouses and shops.

    “So, in terms of enforcement and prosecution, things have dramatically changed over the last eight months and the creative industry should be well aware of that.”

    According to him, 12 suspected pirates were arrested in the last eight months while 21 pending cases are in court.

    He said that the Commission had also closed case files of seven of the suspected pirates.

    Ezeilo said that three containers of pirated materials were seized at Apapa Terminal Port and in seven warehouses in Mushin, Ajegunle, Surulere and Amuwo-Odofin.

    The materials seized included cinematographic works, literary works, CDs and video CDs.

    He said that the commission would introduce a new legislation to strengthen the fight against piracy in the country.

    “The draft copyright bill is undergoing fine-tuning at the office of the Attorney-General.

    “We are hoping that when the new bill becomes law, it will help to make the copyright industry more vibrant, encourage more creativity and address the issue of piracy on the internet.

    “These are the sort of things we are hoping to achieve so that the industry will become a more vibrant industry and contribute more to the economy and the GDP of the country.’’

    Ezeilo said that the commission recently carried out another anti-piracy raid, tagged ‘Operation No Mercy’ at Yaba Book market in Lagos, suspected to be a piracy activity zone.

    “The anti-piracy raid was carried out following intelligence and surveillance report.

    “ They were accompanied on the raid by officers of the Nigeria Police.

    “The anti-piracy action proved to be successful as major literary book titles were seized and three suspects arrested.’’

    Ezeilo commended the unwavering support and collaborative efforts by the Nigeria Police and stakeholders in the copyright industry towards the fight against piracy in Lagos.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Copyright Decree No. 47 of 1988 established NCC in August 1989.

  • Porting activities reduce to 32,873 in June, says NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Saturday said activities on the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) by telecommunications operators reduced in June to 32,873 from 39,535 in May, showing a decrease of 6,662.

    The regulatory body made this known in its “Incoming and Outgoing Porting Activities of Mobile Network Operators Report’’ posted on its website.

    NCC said in the report that 39,535 subscribers ported within the networks in May.

    The commission said that of the 32,873 porting activities in June, 16,714 were “Incoming Porting Activities”, while 16,159 were “Outgoing Porting Activities”.

    It said that in the outgoing table, 5,030 subscribers moved from MTN Nigeria to other networks through Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in June.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that those that left MTN’s network decreased by 1,537 as against 6,567 customers that dropped the network in May.

    NCC said that 4,531 customers moved from Airtel Nigeria; showing a decrease of 2,009 subscribers against 6,540 that left the service provider in May.

    Also, 4,902 subscribers moved from Globacom Nigeria in June, representing an increase of 116 customers that left the network, as against 4,789 that left in May.

    It said that 1,696 customers of Etisalat Nigeria, now 9mobile, ported to other networks within the same period, a decrease of 130, when compared with 1,826 users that left in May.

    In the incoming table, 9mobile led with an additional 12,498 customers joining its network in June.

    Airtel Nigeria came second on the gainers’ list with 2,020 subscribers; 1,445 subscribers moved to MTN Nigeria, while Globacom Nigeria got 751 customers.

    The report shows that in spite of the loan repay challenge faced by Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile), Nigerian telecommunications users still have confidence in the network, hence, moving to its services.

    NAN reports that the exercise was flagged off on April 22, 2013 by the NCC with the aim of deepening competition in the industry.

  • Job loss: NCC addresses Etisalat Group 3 weeks ultimatum to EMTS

    …allays fears of operation disruption

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has addressed the Etisalat Group three weeks ultimatum given Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services (EMTS) for it to change brand.

    The telecoms regulator vowed to protect the company from possible collapse in its operations, and assured there would be no job loss.

    The Commission allayed the fear yesterday during the 80th edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament, TCP held at Yar’ Adua Centre, Abuja.

    Prof. Umar Dambatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, gave the assurance while delivering his opening address at the event.

    Prof. Dambatta, who was represented by Mr. Sunday Dare, said the Commission wasn’t unaware of the current challenge facing Etisalat Nigeria following the recent report about its mother company withdrawal from Nigerian market but had waded into the matter to save the jobs of the staff and interest of the 21 million subscribers at stake.

    The EVC said though the Commission never anticipated the crisis would befall Etisalat, it was resolute in ensuring that it does not jeopardize the interest of the consumers.

    ‘‘This year 2017 is a year of the consumer. We never anticipated the challenge Etisalat is currently facing and because of the lives of the 21 million consumers at stake, NCC and the CBN came in to intervene.

    ‘‘As I speak, Etisalat is still running, despite the proposed plan to change the name. In spite of the challenges, we have kept it running for the sake of the consumers. I can assure you that no single staff of Etisalat has been fired, we will make sure all of them are protected and the services not disrupted.’’

    Also speaking on the matter, the Director, Consumer Care at Etisalat, Mr. Plato Syrimis, also dismissed the fear of the staff and subscriber of Etisalat, saying that the change of name would have no impact on the operation and service delivery of the company, insisting that no consumer would lose his line.

    ‘‘Don’t expect any dare consequences because of the proposed change of name. The truth is that Etisalat has been operating from the Middle East shareholder until it pulled out of Nigeria two weeks ago.

    ‘‘We have been operating and still running. That will not affect our services. It is unfortunate that this happened but will not affect the market, which had been in operation for many years.

    ‘‘Airtel changed name six times and that did not make it lose its market that is what is expected to happen in Etisalat. It is only the brand name that is going to change, all our services , innovations, staff are not going to be lost. You are not going to wake up one day and lose your line.

    ‘‘What is happening for the past 24 hours is not going to affect Etsalat services, what happened two weeks ago is only going to affect the brand name, that is what is likely to change, if it does change.

    The name on the door will change but the services, innovation, customer focus, customer services will always be there,’’ he further explained.

    On the TCP, the EVC said the event was unique and remarkable because the Commission had decided to celebrate the consumer of the Nigerian telecom industry this year in consistent with the 8 Point Agenda of his administration. He commended the consumers for consistently spending a significant portion of their disposable income on telecommunication services, even as it continues to improve the quality of life, businesses and social engagements.

    In recognition of the consumers’ contribution to the industry, Dambatta promised to strive further in ensuring improved quality of service, ubiquitous and affordable services to the consumers.

    He also assured that the Commission would entrench a consumer-centric regulatory governance and policy administration and also ensure consumer information flow and education as well as ensure consumer satisfaction by supporting better access to life changing and improvement opportunities and social engagement.

    ‘‘We are however grateful to consumers for responding positively to the telecommunications revolution. It is really the investment of the consumer through patronage of services that has encouraged build out and supported services provision. There is need to celebrate and recognize the consumer as the Boss of the industry and as Boss he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

    ‘‘The Commission has taken steps to ensure that the telecommunications sector remain vibrant and has carried out its regulatory functions to ensure that the companies operating in the industry are healthy.

    Where necessary, NCC has made interventions to prevent disruptions to consumer experience,’’ he added.