Emmanuel Ukudolo I Thursday, June 01, 2023
YENAGOA, Bayelsa, Nigeria – A market study has revealed that the deployment of 5G technology services will yield $13.2 trillion in economic value and create 22.3 trillion jobs by 2035 in global value chain alone, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu has said.
Adewolu who made the revelation at The Talk to the Regulator Forum held in Yenegoa, Bayelsa said the commission has played an effective role in placing the nation at a vantage position in order to reap these benefits.
He attributed the exponential growth in the telecommunications sector to effective policies, legal and regulatory framework implemented by the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
He said The Talk to the Regulator Forum is an opportunity for Critical Stakeholders to share their respective challenges, experiences and also suggest viable solutions to the Regulator.
“Constant engagement with the regulator is the path towards regulatory efficiency as it preserves the integrity of the regulatory instruments issued by the regulator whilst securing the buy-in of all stakeholders”, he said.
Earlier in his keynote address, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta said TTTR Forum in Yenagoa was originally scheduled to hold in 2022 but was postponed due to the dreadful flood disaster that hit Bayelsa and some other states in the year.
While commiserating with the people of Bayelsa State and the entire nation for the incident he prayed it never happens again believing that the state has made adequate preparations for any future occurrences.
Notwithstanding the development, Danbatta said the telecom industry witnessed milestones in more ways than one, including the rapid growth in technology, which is redefining service delivery, and creating wide and high expectations from all stakeholders.
To keep up to date with developments in the industry, the Commission, he said has equally taken measures to improve regulations to accommodate the rapid and continuous development.
“Some of the interventions and responses of the Commission includes but are not limited to: Facilitating the Roll-Out of 5G Service provision and introduction of Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Licence to bridge the gap between unserved and underserved areas”.
Danbatta said the commission is currently reviewing the scope and structure of its existing licenses to make them more robust and to accommodate some of the identified new industry trends.
He explained that in line with the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP 2020 – 2025), the NCC is providing industry leadership to facilitate the achievement of 90% Broadband penetration by year 2025, and well above 50% at the end of 2023. “Currently, over a One Hundred and Fifty (I50) million Nigerians have access to internet, while over eighty (80) million can access high speed internet”, he said.
He described the ‘Talk-To-The Regulator` Forum as a common platform for non-discriminatory interaction on a one-on-one basis, between the Licensees and the regulator on several industry issues, pertinent to the licensees and of national interest.
In his opening remarks, Director Licensing and Authorisation, Mr. Mohammed Babajika said the Commission recognizes that technological advancements in the industry such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Network as a Service (NaaS) and Internet of Things (IoT) are redefining service-delivery and therefore in line with global trends, it is currently reviewing its license categories.
“The Commission has also finalized the framework for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and is currently in the process of licensing MVNOs”, he said, stressing that licensing MVNO will improve the telecommunication output of the country, enable the expansion and availability of quality mobile coverage and close the gap to the unserved and underserved population in Nigeria.
He noted that the commission is fully committed to discharging its mandate but that iit can only achieve this with the cooperation and support of Licensees.
Earlier, the Zonal Controller, NCC, Port Harcourt, Venny Eze said The Talk to the Regulator Forum came at the heels of the licensing of the 5G network, and the effort by stakeholders to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of telecommunications services to all Nigerians.
He described the event as second, in the series of the Nigerian Communications Commission`s engagement with licensees, in the South-South, having held similar forum, in Port Harcourt for the licensees in the South-East and the South-South geopolitical zones in 2021, with a brief hiatus in 2022, due to unforeseen circumstances.
“Today`s event, provides a veritable platform for interaction between the regulator and the licensees, on one hand, and other industry stakeholders, on the other hand. It is a rare occasion that would enable the Commission to identify the challenges confronting
the industry from the pragmatic point of view of the industry players”, he said, adding that it would afford the Licensees, an opportunity to be educated on topical issues of concern, which would help them comply with the licensing terms and conditions, in the various license categories.
