The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is recommitting itself to the nation’s goal of achieving 70 percent internet coverage by 2025.
The NCC stated that 50% would be reached by the end of 2023.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Commission’s Executive Chairman, made this pledge during a media conference with northern executive editors and media leaders to emphasize his accomplishments since resuming office.
Danbatta used the event to tell the media’s top brass that half a million people have signed up for 5G services, and that the Commission’s efforts to boost broadband penetration are paying off; current estimates put it at 47.01 percent as of July 2023.
Speaking from the foundation of the recently revised Strategic Vision Plan’s five pillars, the EVC discussed the 119 milestones reached across regulatory excellence, universal broadband, market growth, the digital economy, and strategic partnership.
Danbatta claimed that the Nigerian telecommunications industry had made great strides since he took charge in 2015 thanks to the hard work of the NCC and the support of both internal and external players.
Despite “explosive growth,” “improved regulatory standards,” and “digital innovations that garnered global recognition,” he stated, “we acknowledge the challenges encountered by the industry.”
With a teledensity growth of 115.70% from 107.87% in 2015, the EVC boasted that active telephone customers had climbed from less than 150.7 million to 218.9 million during his tenure as NCC’s head from 2015 to the present.
Danbatta said that the country’s over 89.73 million subscriptions on 3G, 4G, and 5G networks would be greatly improved by the stimulation of broadband infrastructure across the country. In 2015, broadband penetration was only 6%. Furthermore, there are now 159.5 million people who are subscribed to the Internet globally, up from less than 100 million in 2015.
In addition, the telecoms sector increased its quarterly contribution to the Nigerian economy from 8% in 2015 to 16% in the second quarter of 2023.
“Moreover, once more telecommunications businesses were granted licenses to operate in Nigeria’s telecoms sector in 2015, the investment profile skyrocketed from $38 billion to $75 billion, and this number continues to rise everyday. Over $847.8 million has been brought in to the federal government by the NCC through the sale of 5G C-Band spectrum, he said.
Danbatta, who has won a slew of honors for his contributions to the success of the Nigerian telecommunications industry on a local, national, and international scale, highlighted a number of milestones reached since 2015.
Apart from the regulatory activities that led to the historic launch of 5G services in Nigeria, other milestones and initiatives were recorded, such as the introduction of Spectrum Trading Guidelines, the re-farming and re-planning of certain spectrum band for efficiency, the establishment of a collaborative process for the release of C-Band Spectrum by Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited, and the introduction of the Expanded Revenue Assurance Solution (ERAS) to address revenue assurance issues.
Among these initiatives, Danbata highlighted the licensing of satellite earth stations, the issuance of an operating license to SpaceX Satellite, the facilitation of the landing of additional submarine cables like Google’s 2,000-kilometer Equiano subsea Internet cable in 2022, MTN’s listing on the Nigerian stock exchange, the licensing of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), the introduction of new unlicensed millimeter wave spectrum, and the regulation of white space spectrum.
Danbatta has also led the NCC to invest in the future of the telecoms industry by allocating over N500 million to R&D and endowing professorial chairs at Nigerian universities.
He went on to praise the progress made by the Commission, citing the establishment of the Digital Economy Department and the mandate to push the implementation of the indigenous telecommunications sector growth through the operation of the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS).
Danbatta stated that the development of Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) in more than 30 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was another consumer-focused initiative of the Commission. These facilities and the CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team) are now fully functional. The EVC claimed that these two programs ensured the safety of telecom customers online and helped customers in times of crisis.
According to the CEO of the NCC, the Commission has also made definite steps toward protecting consumers, advocating for them, exchanging relevant information, and educating the public.
“These include the elimination of coercive or dishonest subscriptions to telecommunications services on mobile networks; the introduction of data roll-over just before the expiration of subscribed data plans; the introduction of the 622 toll-free number for lodging complaints related to services with the Commission; the introduction of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Code for combating the menace of unsolicited text messages; the elimination of call masking; and the introduction of effective Subscriber Identity Module
Although the telecom industry still faces a number of obstacles, including vandalism, securing equitable Right of Way (RoW) from government stakeholders, and multiple taxation and regulation, Commission has put framework in place to work with necessary stakeholders to overcome the obstacles posed by these challenges and to sustain the growth trajectory that has been the hallmark of the telecoms sector as an enabler of socio-economic development in Nig.
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