Mr. Sunday Dare is the Executive Commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission. In this interview with ABIOLA ODUTOLA, he speaks on loss of 10 million active lines, call-masking fraud, the sale of fake phones, among other issues. Excerpts:
What is the update on your collaboration with the states towards addressing cases of indiscriminate closure of base stations?
The Office of the Vice President and the Ministry of Communications have played a very supportive role in addressing the matter.
A presentation was recently made to the National Economic Council on the issue and I am pleased to note that state governments recognise the need to cooperate with operators and facilitate ease of roll-out of critical infrastructure in their respective states, while also protecting such infrastructure from indiscriminate interference.
Closure of base stations and other critical telecom infrastructure without lawful authority (i.e. an order from a court of competent jurisdiction) could, in fact, amount to a breach of the Criminal Justice Act and a criminal action.
Equally important is that, such interference seriously affects socio-economic life in the areas served by such infrastructure. We, therefore, continue to urge government at all tiers to support the creation of an enabling environment for the growth of telecom infrastructure and the elimination of challenges such as multiple taxation and regulation.
We will also encourage them to look at collaborative opportunities with service providers on issues such as widening the tax net through the application of broadband technology, improving the speed of governance and empowering citizens through the deployment of Information and Communication Technology facilities.
Economic recession, for instance, caused many households to reduce their spending on telecoms services, meaning people reduced the number of Subscriber Identity Module cards they held as a way of controlling their spending.
Spectrum trading has been advocated by telecoms operators to guard against idleness in spectrum usage. What is NCC doing in this regard?
Spectrum is a scarce national resource and the NCC is focused on achieving its efficient allocation and utilisation, so that we can maximise the benefits of this scarce resource in the national interest.
As you also know, the NCC is globally acclaimed for its commitment to deliberative regulation, which means that we robustly consult with all relevant stakeholders before we come to decisions on any issue affecting the industry. We have taken the same approach on this issue and so we had a stakeholder consultation recently, where we received memoranda and comments from industry players.
The commission has developed a framework for spectrum trading in the communications sector. It details scope of trading, what can or cannot be traded, process for trading, who can trade, different types of trading, etc. The framework has been published on the commission’s website.
Findings reveal that Nigeria has lost over 15 million active lines in 2017 alone. What are the factors responsible for this and what are you doing to control this?
NCC has over the years been closely monitoring and issuing regular monthly reports on critical indices such as subscriber numbers. So, the trend you mentioned did not catch us by surprise. From the data we have so far, there are several reasons for the drop. The telecom industry does not operate in a vacuum, and so we are impacted by micro-economic factors, which affect the overall economy.
Economic recession, for instance, caused many households to reduce their spending on telecoms services, meaning people reduced the number of Subscriber Identity Module cards they held as a way of controlling their spending. Thankfully, the economy is in recovery mode so we may begin to notice a rebound.
Secondly, the first quarter of the year sometimes witnesses a drop in active subscriptions since people would often drop SIMs acquired specially for use in the hinterlands during the festive seasons.
Thirdly, a lot of customers have been churned by the networks following the implementation of the directive to disconnect all unregistered or improperly registered SIMs. Another factor is the reclassification exercises carried out by some of the networks to stop counting customers who are dormant but only receiving bulk short messages.
Call masking appears to be an insider fraud among telecoms operators. How is the regulator tackling this issue in the interest of fair competition and all stakeholders?
The NCC views call masking, not just as fraud, but as a potentially criminal act, which seriously impacts negatively on national security, not just on the customer’s nasty experience. So we are taking very drastic actions against the practice.
We have asked any operator or licensee involved to immediately discontinue with such practice, and we have now moved to enforcement stages. We will take the necessary punitive measures against any perpetrator. There will be no compromise on this.
Despite the NCC’s assurances in the past of maintaining standards, fake mobile phones and devices have continued to flood the market. Is there no lasting solution to it?
We are approaching this in a multi-pronged manner. For instance, we are engaging with handset dealers to sell genuine devices and to put measures in place to identify and block fakes. I recently met with the Computer Village Dealers Association to concretise this message.
I am also pleased that the Nigeria Customs Service, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Consumer Protection Council have keyed into this initiative and are all doing everything they can in their respective spheres to arrest this menace.
With broadband penetration hitting 21 per cent, Nigeria’s budding entrepreneurs, start-ups and other individuals still have challenges of Internet access and this is stifling their efforts at breaking even. How can we survive this?
I am pleased to note that we have a government that very clearly sees the need to promote youth entrepreneurship in the technology sphere and you can see very many forward-looking initiatives to address the challenges you mentioned.
The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for instance, recently signed an Executive Order on the Ease of Doing Business, which was designed to eliminate official roadblocks to entrepreneurship. You will also note that the Ministry of Communications, the NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency and other government agencies have different initiatives to promote youth tech-entrepreneurship and will ensure that all Nigerians do not have trouble surfing the internet any longer.
Is the 30 per cent broadband penetration target, as primed in the National Broadband Plan, still feasible, given that we have just a few months left to the 2018 deadline?
It is undoubtedly feasible. It requires much focused, collective action by all stakeholders, and I elaborated on this in answer to your first question. Active support by all stakeholders will enable us bridge the gap. We are, therefore, focused on exceeding the 30 per cent target while also deepening the deployment of broadband infrastructure to power national growth and development.
The licensing of infrastructure companies, otherwise called Infracos, is underway as we speak. That of the North Central and Lagos is ongoing. This will allow the penetration to be achieved through the deployment of fibre optic to the hinterland.
