The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has drummed support for the Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum (TSSF) initiative organised in Lagos by Business Remarks with the theme: “Examining the Nigerian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) Viability in a Digitised Environment.”
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, stated at the forum that the National Policy on Digitisation as well as the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 can only be facilitated through Internet Service Provision (ISP) and its implementations can make Nigeria compete favourably in the world economy.
Danbatta, who was represented by Mr Yomi Arowosafe, NCC, Zonal Controller, Lagos, stated that in order to achieve the National Policy on Digitalisation as well as the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 mandate, the NCC as at March 2022 has licensed 756 ISPs out of which 188 ISPs are active, while the total subscribers for the data service in Nigeria as at February 2022 stood at 144,059,086.
The EVC disclosed that these inactive ISPs are as a result of the following challenges:
Anti- competition issues;Standardising the price of Bandwidth;Need to open different Spectrum Bands 32GHz,42GHz and 60GHz for the last mile Internet access; Low Internet Access in the Northern region in the county due to insecurity challenges;Challenges of Right of Way (RoW) and conclusion of standardization with the State Governments; Multiple Taxation;Deployment of Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) compactible to all service providers;Lack of Company Corporate Code of Governance;Lack of Code of Practice for Internet Service Providers.
Consequently, the NCC boss said that deliberate policies and regulations are being looked at in the Commission in ensuring that ISPs and other smaller players in the industry thrive.
He listed some measures the Commission embarked upon to promote fair play and orderly development of the Nigerian Communication ecosystem as well as boost the competitiveness of the industry to include:
1.Providing the required regulatory frameworks and interventions in terms of policies, guidelines determinations etc, that will encourage fair play in the telecommunications industry;
2.Encourging and mandating more openness and transparency in the activities of stakeholders within the industry in order to ensure healthy competition practices amongst competiting licensees;
Promoting digitization efforts across the length and breadth of the economy;
4.Commitment to full realization of the objectives of the Nigerian Broadband Plan 2020-2025;
Actively engaging in strategic collaboration with stakeholders who have crucial roles to play in the growth and development of the Nigerian economy with emphasis in the telecommunications sector;
6.Encourging industry stakeholders to seek and explore opportunities;
7.Licensing of 3.5GHz which will create an enabling environment for Internet Service Providers to thrive in Nigeria.
He posited that digitisation of the economy can only come into being when the ISPs are fully encouraged and that is what the Commission is focusing on to ensure the enabling environment is created through the development of regulatory instruments that will address the concerns of ISPs in particular and the telecommunication sector at large.
He applauded the Business Remarks Limited; and the convener of the Forum, Mrs Bukola Olanrewaju, for providing the window of engagement, adding that the concreate outcome generated in the course of the engagement would not only be useful to the Nigerian Communications industry, but to the Nigerian economy as a whole.
