• As stakeholders commend regulator for its outstanding growth spike policing role
By Dele Ogbodo in Abuja/Seun Adams in Lagos
The vulnerabilities and negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding, Africa’s foremost telecommunications regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through stringent and effective policies of the telecommunications and information services sector that cumulatively raked in N2.272 trillion, which is the equivalent of 14.30% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution in the second quarter of 2020.
While appraising the sterling contribution and performance of the sector through data disclosure in a publication by The Guardian newspaper on Friday, stated that data showed that the contribution of the sector translates to N2.272 trillion, up from N1.821 trillion in the first quarter of the year.
According to the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, this leap is coming because of the effective critical regulatory actions that the Commission deployed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Quality of Service (QoS) delivery by the networks to telecom consumers.
Danbatta, made the disclosure while speaking at the first edition of the Virtual Telecom Consumer Parliament (V-TCP) hosted by the Commission in Abuja recently tagged: “Impact of Covid-19 on Telecoms Service Delivery.”
The Telecom Consumer Parliament is NCC’s flagship forum for in-depth engagement with service providers to discuss issues of contemporary interest affecting consumers of telecom services in the country.
On the second-quarter GDP, the paper, however, relied on figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), indicates an increase of 31.43 per cent.
While the entire Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry recorded 17.83 per cent in the second quarter, the 14.30 per cent contribution of the telecoms sub-sector was unprecedented, far and above oil and gas, and other non-oil sectors’.
Checks showed that, in 2015, telecoms’ contribution to GDP stood at eight per cent and has grown significantly quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year to reach the current milestone of 14.30 per cent.
Meanwhile, industry stakeholders attributed the second quarter contribution of the telecoms sector, which represents a leap from the 10.88 per cent in Q1 2020, to the sound regulatory environment enthroned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The stakeholders, including the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators (ALTON), and the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), who spoke with The Guardian on the matter, commended the regulatory framework driving the digital frontiers in the last five years.
The ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, thanked all industry players for their resilience and consistency of purpose.
Adebayo hinged the growth on so many factors including the investor-friendly policy and regulatory environment championed by the leadership of NCC, the commitment of all stakeholders, consistent investment in network maintenance and expansion, and sacrifice by sector operators.
To sustain this growth, the ALTON Chairman said the country should continue to invest in network expansion and maintenance operations, access to foreign exchange to procure network critical equipment, consistency in policy and policy environment.
Adebayo said there should be access to spectrum and friendly policies around its allocation, assignment and cooperation between the stakeholders.
ATCON President, Olusola Teniola, said: “telecoms industry has remained bullish owing to the quality of leadership at the helm of affairs at the Commission.”
He added that NCC had become a reference point in the telecom regulatory ecosystem in Africa and beyond.
In the same vein, President of National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS) Adeolu Ogunbajo, said the proactive regulatory approach of Danbatta has helped made telecoms “the oxygen that keeps economic activities afloat during the lockdowns and consumers are appreciative of the fact that the Commission, working with its supervising Ministry, didn’t allow the consumer to suffer serious disruption to quality of service and quality of experience.”
Checks showed that effective regulatory regime, backed by various initiatives of the Commission and efforts of the supervising Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy at addressing industry challenges, is providing the needed digital valves that have supported the economy from collapse, since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The increase in broadband penetration, Internet usage, number of access to telephone and several other initiatives by the Commission, especially in the areas of driving tech innovations, employment creation, promotion of digital inclusiveness, which are policy directions of NCC, an industry regulator, has, in the last five years, boosted the sector’s contribution to GDP.
These policy activities have also enhanced the growth of digital-based activities across other sectors of the economy increasing efficiency and effectiveness in economic operations.
Speaking recently at the Commission’s first virtual telecoms consumer parliament (VTCP), the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, noted that the NCC, ensured has always been innovative and proactive in its regulatory activities by ensuring that the economy remains afloat despite the restrictions occasioned by the pandemic.
With a commitment to deliver more service through the international regulatory benchmark, the EVC urged operators to boost network capacity
Citing an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) report, the EVC said with the pandemic, some telecom operators and platforms are reporting demand spike, especially in data usage and volume of calls, as high as 800 per cent since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Danbatta said the Commission and the mobile network operators needed to play their roles in sustaining the quality of service delivery and quality of experience by the consumers, who are critical stakeholders in the telecoms sector.
He said the NCC, in conjunction with the supervising Ministry, developed e-platforms to handle all requests from the licensees to ensure that regulatory services are provided to sustain service delivery to subscribers.
He said the Commission also approved and encouraged resource sharing among network operators and secured Right of Passage (RoP) for all telecommunications companies and suppliers for easy movement during the lockdown. These measures enabled the operators to service their base stations and ensured seamless services for telecom consumers who increasingly relied on the networks during the pandemic.
The NCC boss further stated that the NCC, working with the ministry is resolving the problem of the high cost of Right of Way (RoW) with the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), adding that, through such engagements, the state governors have lent their support for robust broadband infrastructure.
“The Commission is hopeful that with the reduction in RoW, which will automatically result in a reduction in capital expenditure (CAPEX) by the network operators, telecom companies will sooner than later reciprocate the gesture by making their services more affordable to Nigerians,” he said.
According to him, regulatory efforts have also resulted in a Presidential approval directing Security Agencies to protect Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and telecom facilities as critical national assets. He said this has helped to safeguard telecom infrastructure for the greater role telecom has to play with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Danbatta has strongly charged the service providers to constantly upgrade and expand their network capacity in order to deliver top-notch QoS to their consumers.