Admin l Wednesday, Sept.09, 20202
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has remitted not less than N362.34 billion to the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) from 2015 to date, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta has said.
Professor Danbatta who was speaking at an interactive session with media chiefs and News Editors in Abuja said the money remitted accrued from spectrum fees and operating surplus, which he said has helped to boost the revenue-generation drive of the current administration.
The NCC boss explained that to optimize the usage and benefit of spectrum, a number of initiatives such as spectrum trading, infrastructure sharing, and satellite infrastructure and wireless infrastructure have been put in place to drive socio-economic development.
“For instance, the transfer of the spectrum licence of 2X 10MHz in the 900MHz E-GSM Spectrum band from Intercellular Nigeria to Airtel networks Limited amounted to the sum of N8.9 billion. The amount generated through that singular initiative has brought significant revenue to Government”, he said, and that the Commission has also awarded the sum of N336.4 million as research grants to the academia and has endowed professorial chairs in two Nigerian universities.
He said the commission has also empowered Nigerian youths by promoting their ingenuity and innovation in the development of locally-relevant technology solutions, adding that the latest being the 2020 NCC Virtual Hackathon, where N9 million grant was given to three top promising tech startups for solutions aimed at addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and epidemic diseases in the thematic areas of Health, Community, Productivity, Economy and Transportation.
He told the media chiefs that the Commission recognized that the key to the survival and growth of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria is sustained investments.
“In the last five years, the Commission has deliberately and consistently engaged investors in different fora to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). We showed investors the Commission’s roadmap for Broadband, which includes the Open Access Model Initiative, the Infraco Project, our 5G readiness and the Access Gaps for market opportunities that new entrants could leverage on in the Nigeria’s telecom space”, and that to build confidence in the sector and ensure that current investors and new players flourish, the NCC has activated mandatory compliance to the Code of Corporate Governance for the telecoms industry.
“This initiative seeks to further strengthen telecoms entities, sustain sector’s role as a driver of economic growth and social transformation, and attract investments”, he said.
The NCC boss asserted that the consumer is king, hence its consumer-centric regulatory initiatives has ensured that consumer protection, information and education continued to top agenda of the commission.
“To further empower consumers, in 2016 we introduced the Do-Not-Disturb (DND), 2442 Short Code, which gave consumers the power to opt-in or -out of unsolicited messages on their respective networks.
“We prioritised consumer satisfaction by declaring 2017 as “the Year of the Consumer”, and set out with various projects to bring telecoms consumers closer to the Commission and their various network operators. The Commission also upgraded the NCC Toll-free Number 622 as secondary complaints mechanism to further empower and resolve consumer complaints.
“We also issued Directions on Data Roll-over and another on Forceful Subscription of Data Services and Value-added Services (VAS). The two directions have ensured effective protection of telecoms consumers”, he said, stressing that in 2019, the NCC revised the Consumer Complaints and Service Legal Agreement (CC/SLAs) with the operators in order to ensure prompt response to consumer complaints, in addition to review of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations with draft regulations being concluded for publication in official Gazette.
“We initiated the Mobile Devices Management Systems (DMS) in collaboration with other agencies aimed at protecting consumers from the negative effects of substandard devices on the networks and the health of telecom consumers”, he noted adding that the DMS project, when fully implemented, will help in combating the proliferation of fake, counterfeit and cloned communication devices in the telecommunications industry.
“Similarly, we have developed Regulations on E-Waste. The Regulations will ensure that, we are also able to rid our environment of indiscriminate disposal of malfunctioning and disused gadgets, which are capable of posing health risks to consumers”.
Danbatta explained that its commitment to protecting the lives and property of telecoms consumers has seen the NCC getting rid of improperly registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards.
“We conduct periodic audit of the networks to ensure the MNOs do not harbour improperly registered SIM cards on their networks any further.
“I am happy to report that nineteen (19) Emergency Communications Centres (ECC)have been activated across the country. The 112 National Emergency Number allows Nigerians in distress to get help in emergencies”, he said and that for this, the Commission has received special recognitions for its role in enhancing security of lives and properties of Nigerians and by implication, promoting the protection of telecoms consumers.
“The 112 number has become a major channel of communication during this COVID period as over one thousand two hundred and nine (1,209) COVID-19 related calls were made to the 112 national emergency toll free number between March and June 2020 from the various ECCs across the country”, he said.
