NCC identifies the future horizons for industry growth in Telecoms@20

NCC identifies the future horizons for industry growth in Telecoms@20

Iexclusivenews Nigeria reports that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has underlined major steps being implemented to consolidate the telecom sector’s growth and gains as stakeholders in Nigeria commemorate 20 years of telecoms revolution.

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, mentioned the digital frontiers while presenting a paper titled “Telecommunications in Nigeria: The Next Frontier” at the Muson Centre in Lagos, which commemorated the 20th anniversary of Nigeria’s telecommunications revolution.

In a statement, Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs, said The Commission was given an award “in recognition of its institutional support for the growth and development of telecoms in Nigeria” at the occasion.

A special award was given to NCC’s EVC “in recognition of his enormous contribution to the growth and sustainability of telecoms development in Nigeria.”

Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the sector has seen significant growth in subscribers, internet usage, investment, innovation, contribution to GDP, and multiplier effects of growth in other sectors of the economy over the last 20 years.

NCC is pushing new boundaries in conjunction with essential stakeholders, according to Danbatta, in order to ensure consistent expansion of the nation’s digital economy area.

According to him, as a leading telecommunications regulatory agency, the NCC has been at the forefront of leveraging latest technologies and accelerating broadband infrastructure deployment to put Nigeria on the global map of the digital economy experience, as stipulated in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003 and other guiding legislations.

In this regard, he stated that the NCC was aiming to boost broadband penetration in line with the Federal Government’s targets set out in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) for the years 2020-2025. President Muhammadu Buhari announced the NNBP in March 2020.

According to Danbatta, the NNBP’s goal is to reach 70% broadband penetration among 90% of the country’s population. Over the following five years, the Plan aims to attain internet speeds of 15Mbps in rural areas and 25Mbps in metropolitan areas.

“The Commission is also driving various initiatives aimed at facilitating the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) Mobile Technology in Nigeria. Prof. Danbatta noted that a strong broadband infrastructure will be critical in accelerating the deployment of 5G technology and facilitating the availability of 5G-related services.

“Already, the Commission is set to auction some spectrum slots in 3.5GHz band and we have confirmed 97 per cent readiness for 5G deployment in this regard. This is in line with the marching order given to us by Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), following approval by the Federal Executive Council to proceed on our 5G Deployment Plan. The Information Memorandum (IM) for the auction had earlier been shared with stakeholders and we are set to auction the 5G spectrum before the end of the year,” he said.

The ongoing examination of the sector’s license structure, according to the NCC Chief Executive, is one of the steps being implemented by the Commission to help Nigeria achieve the next frontier for telecom development and economic growth.

This aims to connect the telecoms licensing procedure with the wide spectrum of technological advancements, technology convergence, and services that are transforming the global telecoms environment.

The Commission has also completed a review of its Spectrum Trading Guidelines, according to Danbatta (STG).

The STG, according to the EVC, allows in-country spectrum resources to be transferred on the Secondary Market via Transfer, Sharing, or Leasing (TSL) whenever the regulatory prerequisites are met.

According to Danbatta, the NNBP 2020-2025 mandates a review of these Guidelines to guarantee that un-used spectrum is properly traded to promote deployment by other operators, among other things.

As a result of the Guidelines, the country’s desire for universal broadband connection will be made easier, in keeping with the Federal Government’s economic agenda. Danbatta said the NCC has unveiled its Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 and the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, which will ultimately drive the next frontier of growth in the telecoms sector, as vehicles for implementing the NNBP, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030), and other similar digital economy policies.

He explained that the two strategic plans represent crucial areas on which the Commission intends to focus in order to help the government implement its digital economy agenda.

He stated that the two regulatory documents (the SMP and SVP) encapsulate the totality of regulatory and policy initiatives, designed to re-invent and transform the telecom ecosystem, within the context of regulation, to a greater height. He added that this, to the Commission, is the next frontier for the sector.

“While emerging technologies are disruptive by nature, Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind digitally and this explains Commission’s engagement with developmental regulations for the industry and we are irrevocably committed to this,” he said.

Other individuals bestowed with recognition awards at the event include Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; and the former EVC/CEO of NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, both for pioneering the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) revolution of 2001.

The Zenith Bank also received an award for being at the forefront of leveraging technology for powering financial services delivery.

Among the journalists who received awards is a veteran ICT journalist/Publisher, E-World News, Aaron Ukodie.