Naija Telecoms: 2014

Nigeria: Your Calls May Soon Be Monitored

By Emmanuel Elebeke

In view of the unstable security situation in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says security agencies will soon commence monitoring of all calls to enhance their operational activities in the country. This Commission announced this recently at a special edition of Consumer Outreach programme organized by the commission at IBB Golf Club, Maitama, Abuja.

Dr Eugene Juwah, CEO NCC speaks on ITU

Dr Eugene Juwah, CEO Nigeria Communications Commission speaks on ITU

EFCC Partners NCC On Corruption

Ibrahim Lamorde,
Chairman EFCC

CHAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde has commended the partnership between the EFCC and the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

Lamorde made the commendation Thursday during a sensitization programme organized for management and staff of the NCC in Abuja.

Lamorde who was represented by Osita Nwajah, deputy director, Public Affairs said the programme is designed to foster collaboration with NCC as a key player in the fight against corruption particularly in information and communication sector in Nigeria .

Four years ago, Dr. Eugene Juwah assumed duties as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) . Since then, he has taken some bold decisions to sanitise the industry, which have impacted positively on the sector. In this chat with media executives, he gives an insight into the landmarks that have defined his tenure. Excerpts.

YOU rolled out a six-point agenda on assumption of office, would you say you have fully implemented them?

Actually I can summarise the six-point agenda in the following way; we wanted to consolidate the progress made before we came, and we wanted to improve quality of service (QoS), to enhance broadband implementation, improve competition, provide diversified choices for consumers at good quality and price and improve our presence in the international space.

Dr. Eugene Juwah,
Exec. Vice. Chairman NCC

The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, is four years on the job. Recently, he reflected on his tenure and other key issues in the telecoms sector. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

Did you ever envisage being Nigeria's telecoms regulator?

As you know, I’ve been in the ICT industry for a very long time, starting from my days in the early 70s at Shell. In 1990 I specifically moved to telecoms, so I’ve had the advantage of seeing the development of telecommunication in Nigeria. And since 1990 I’ve worked in telecoms I’ve interacted intensively with the regulators; I’ve quarreled with them, I’ve admired them depending on what issue is at stake here. I must tell you honestly I never aimed at being the primary telecom regulator in Nigeria. I admire regulators when they did things that were in my favour when I was in the private sector. And I quarreled with them when they did things against me. But as I said, I never aimed specific to be the regulator until I was asked to apply. Graciously Mr. President selected me and the senate confirmed the selection.

A former General Manager for Internal Audit at MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Thuli Mashanda, has told the National Industrial Court of Nigeria that the company sacked her because she reported an alleged act of fraud to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Testifying for a former Network Group Operations Manager, Mr Paul Odunewu, who sued MTN, Mashanda said her employers were not happy when she made a report to the anti-graft agency.

Odunewu accused the company of withholding his entitlements, including a long-term incentive scheme (share option) worth over $13.14 million (about N2.1 billion). He is also demanding N100 million damages, among others. The embattled manager said despite being responsible for MTN's

Dr. Mrs. Omobola Johnson,
Minister of Comm. Tech.

The minister of communications technology Omobola Johnson has revealed plans to lower taxes on telecommunications infrastructure to encourage companies invest more on networks in Nigeria.

“For every that is spent on infrastructure, about 70 percent of it is spent on taxes,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg in Abuja. “We’re going to bring that down to a much more reasonable level at 30 to 40 percent.”

Mobile-phone companies including Johannesburg-based MTN and Airtel of India have examined ways to offload networks to reduce exposure to costly African infrastructure.

Chief Okechukwu Itanyi,
Exec. Comm. Stakeholder Mgt.

Written by Hisham Abdulkadir

Given the confused state of Nigeria’s economy where oil revenues have caused severe distortions to the nation’s economy, telecoms offer a ray of hope. In the recent rebasing of Nigeria’s economy, the sector was found to have contributed a massive 28 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product. Pound for pound, this is far more than the oil sector if one were to undertake a cost benefit analyses with all variables taken into consideration.

In less than fifteen years of existence, the telecoms sector has become a veritable provider of jobs for the skilled and unskilled, and income for individuals, corporate organisations and the government. Business, education, transportation, the media industry, entertainment, security, politics and all endeavours are migrating to the automated platform. The scope of possibilities for virtually all sectors has been expanded beyond imagination.

Laying optic fiber cables
for improved service

By Nosa Osarhemein

Last year the Minister for Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson observed that the demand and pressure on the existing telecommunication infrastructure in Nigeria had reached breaking point. She made her observation during the maiden edition of the Telecoms Stakeholders Summit hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission in Lagos.

According to her, though investment in the sector has improved, it was still not sufficient to enable supply meet up with the demand. In a similar vein but in a different context, when asked what the major challenge facing telecommunications in Nigeria is, the Director, Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Mr. Tony Ojobo would say: “Infrastructure, infrastructure and infrastructure”.

Written by Jonas Odeh

One would appear to be too futuristic here. But it is common knowledge that the science fictions of the 19th and 20th centuries have become the technological realities of the 21st century. Add to this the fact that the momentum and speed of change has aggravated many folds and you just might catch my drift.

By Adegboyega Adesegun

The internet is increasingly becoming ubiquitous. No serious endeavour in the organised society of today is to be thought of without taking into consideration a major or subsidiary role for information and communications technology. The internet has therefore become necessity for all models of business, governance and administration.

Side by side with the foregoing, concerns over safety in the cyber space are growing across the globe. As in real life, there are true and real time criminals on the net looking for fortune and lucre in sophisticated modes

Written By Bamidele Bolarinwa

Effective from July 1, 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria expanded the implementation of the Cashless Nigeria Project, otherwise known as ‘Caslite’, beyond Lagos. Lagos had served as a pilot scheme prior to a nationwide implementation. The policy is aimed at discouraging cash withdrawals above N500, 000 for individuals and N3, 000, 000 for corporate bodies per day. The essence is to reduce the amount of cash in circulation and to encourage electronic based transactions. Electronic based transactions will invariably reduce customer traffic in bank halls as more customers resort to the use of electronic cards and automated teller machines, point of sale payments and internet banking services.

By Nkechi Onyedika

Abuja — LACK of sufficient capacity; vandalisation of facilities; incessant closures of base stations and operational offices of service providers by some state governments and their agents have been identified as major contributors to the sharp decline in quality of telephone services in Nigeria.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which stressed that for improved telephone services, these challenges must be overcome, noted however, that there has been slight improvement in service quality.

Written by Nkechi Isaac

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has promised the protection of the over $25 billion investment in the telecoms sector under the telecoms corporate governance code for telecoms industry recently launched by the commission.

Speaking at the launch in Lagos, its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the unveiling of the industry-specific code of corporate governance would help the NCC to enthrone global best practices among the boards of telecoms players, whose actions and inactions have far-reaching effects on the entire telecoms industry.

“The code became necessary to reposition the sector to contribute more to the country’s rebased GDP,” he pointed out.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Dr Eugene Juwah, yesterday (Friday, July 18), said 197,000 subscribers have ported their numbers from one network to another in their efforts to take advantage of the opportunities availed by the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme in terms of improved quality of service.

Dr Juwah, who spoke at a prize giving ceremony for winners of an essay competition in Abuja, said the mobile number portability has afforded subscribers a variety of choices, enhanced quality services as well as deepened competition amongst telecommunication providers.

He expressed hope that the months ahead would see more people changing their service providers from one to another.

By Okon Bassey

Hard times now await all illegal providers of telecommunication services in the country as the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has stepped up monitoring and surveillance activities on those who contravene the law.

Already, NCC team led by Assistant Director (Enforcement), Mr. Salisu Abdu has sealed off TB telecommunication in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital over illegal operation.

By Adeyemi Adepetun and Ayoyinka Jegede

Lagos and Uyo — Although Nigeria's telecommunications market may have witnessed about 70 per cent reduction in prices of telecoms services since the revolution started about 13 years ago, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that this portends danger for further growth of the industry.

Besides, the NCC said this is gradually reducing the country's telecoms sector competitiveness globally.

By Adeyemi Adepetun

TELECOMMUNICATIONS operators in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat have rejected blames that they were responsible for the increasing menace of unsolicited text messages and illegal credit deductions from customers account.

Indeed, the operators combined currently control about 97 per cent of the country's telecoms market and share about 126 million active subscribers.

Defending these allegations at the weekend in Lagos at the repackaged but 75th edition of the Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP), organized the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the operators accused some unscrupulous foreign data miners that are exploring their networks.

Written by Ozioma Ubabukoh

Two major telecommunications operators, Globacom and Airtel, have deepened their roaming service offerings to their respective customers.

Glo, which notes it has added over 100 network partners across the world in the last one year, says subscribers to its network on the postpaid platform can now enjoy seamless roaming services in almost every part of the world.

Written by Johnson Adebola

Residents in some Johannesburg suburbs in South Africa will be able to connect to a new gas pipeline being built to serve MTN’s power station in Fairland, the Sunday Times has reported.

According to the report, the 8km Egoli Gas pipeline will cost R65 million, run from Robertville to Constantia Kloof, and will be finished by December 2014.

By Duro Bamidele

Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection suggests that ‘life is a competitive struggle to survive in the midst of limited resources’. Darwin declares that: “living things must compete for food and space. They must evade the ravages of predators and disease while dealing with unpredictable shifts in their environments, such as changes in climate”. Darwin also posited that within a given population in a given environment, certain individuals possess characteristics that make them more likely to survive.

By Olatunde Akinfemiwa

It has long been speculated that Nigeria’s telecom sector is a significant contributor to the nation’s gross domestic product. One refers to the development as ‘speculations’ because there was never a comparative sectoral assessment as the ‘rebasing’ of the nation’s GDP undertaken recently by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). An appraisal of Nigeria’s GSM sector has simply been based on the sheer array of opportunities by way of direct and indirect jobs, income, business opportunities, small scale enterprises and sundry avenues it has provided for a large section of the population. In the main, some of the statistics peddled about the sector have been simple guess work. But the picture has changed.

By Mathew Ayorinde

Many users of telecom services in Nigeria hold the belief that the general poor quality of services is a deliberate act on the part of the operators to rip-off subscribers and maximise profits. This has accounted for the trend whereby the average working-class citizen and entrepreneur own more than one mobile phone or multiple subscriber identification modules (sim cards), the number portability option notwithstanding.
Against such a background, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has often stated its determination to mount pressure on telecom operators to offer optimal services to their subscribers.

By Sopuruchi Nnaemeka

Survival of the fittest has gone beyond Darwin’s principles of natural adaptation to being the driving force of entrepreneurship. Competition for scarce resources, which in this case are the factors of production – land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship has been quite exhausting for Nigeria’s small telecom companies.
This therefore calls for concerted effort on the part of the sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to device a survival strategy for small operators. Although this appeal may seem preposterous as this is in no way part of the commission’s mandate, it is nevertheless in good fate, considering how the sector has grown in leaps and bounds and how the fringe players could actually fill those gaps and plug the holes left by the big operators.

By Okechukwu Okonta

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, has told the international community to expect a broadband boom in the Nigeria’s telecoms sector. He gave the promise during his presentation at the sub-Saharan Africa Regional Summit at the GSMA Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. According to Juwah, the success attained with the voice services will be replicated in the Nigerian broadband market.

Mr. Tony Ojobo,
NCC Director Public Affairs

By Adebola Ojikutu

Since its inception, privatisation, deregulation and liberalisation in 1999, Nigeria’s telecom sector has made monumental progress and contributions to the nation’s economy. From a mere 1 percent and less than a million analogue lines as at 2001, there has evolved an escalation to about 170 million connected and 128 million active mobile and fixed telephone lines, bringing teledensity to about 91 percent of the total population.

The sector has attracted about $30 billion in foreign direct investment with an average 15 percent growth per annum in the last decade. It has created about ten thousand direct and an estimated two million indirect jobs while opening up various channels and windows of opportunity for small and medium scale entrepreneurs.

Still waiting for the telecoms bill

By Raymond Akubo

Chief Okechukwu Itanyi
Executive Commissioner,
Stakeholders Engagement

For the umpteenth time, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on the National Assembly to speedily bring to conclusion the bill that seeks to protect telecoms infrastructure as critical national assets.
The executive commissioner, Stakeholders Engagement in the commission, Chief Okechukwu Itanyi, made the call recently at NCC 2014 Legislator’s workshop with the theme: ICT Infrastructure as Key Driver for Economic Development: What Role for the Legislature, held in Lagos.
Itanyi who represented the executive vice chairman of the commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, stated that the theme of the forum was apt as ICT has become the foundation for rapid economic development in the world and Nigeria could not afford to be left behind. He said the commission is concerned with the adequacy of telecom infrastructure to drive broadband penetration.

Written by Ben Uzor Jr.

Fixed telephone operators in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP, lost more than 56 percent of their active lines in the past one year, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The protracted crisis engulfing the first national carrier, the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), has contributed immensely to the dearth of fixed-line services in the country.

Hon. Mulikat Akande-
Adeola, Leader,
Nigeria House of Reps.

Written by Victor Oluwasegun

The 2014 Appropriation bill of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday scaled through second reading stage in House of Representatives.

The bill which was presented on the floor by the Leader of the House, Hon. Mulikat Akande- Adeola was unanimously passed when its Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha called for a vote.

The bill is for an Act to authorise the issue from the Statutory Revenue Fund of the NCC the total sum of N54,443,967,000

Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), Starcomms and 12 other telecoms companies have been declared “inactive operators” by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The declaration means the affected companies will no longer contribute to the NCC’s periodic subscriber information.

Written by Bode Adewumi

To stem the growing menace of cybercrime in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is seeking a multi-stakeholder approach to combat it.

Speaking in Lagos at the just-concluded National Cybersecurity Forum 2014, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the global economic loss due to cybercrimes and cost of system repairs as a result of several online attacks runs into billions of naira yearly.

In just about 14 months, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC introduced the Mobile Number portability, a huge traffic of over over 87 thousand is recorded on the system.

This traffic represents a steady adoption of the service and underscores the level of poor network among the operators.

The traffic includes the number of telephone lines that have ported from one network to another since the launch of the service. In fact the official figure is pitched at 87,887.

By Emma Okonji

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is unhappy with a telecommunications firm, MTN, over its violations of the commissions’ regulatory obligations to its dominant status in the telecoms sector and also for violating the ban on promos on its network.

NCC had last week summoned MTN to a meeting in Abuja to obtain its explanations for the observed violations, but was not satisfied with the explanations by the firm.

Jim Iyke and Nadia Buari,

THE Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) says it is partnering the Nigerian movie industry to enhance the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity of stakeholders in movie production.

The Director, Public Affairs of the commission, Mr Tony Ojobo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday that the telecom regulator had become an active enthusiast of Nollywood.

According to him, the aim is to help project the image of the country positively.

Written by Paul Adepoju

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme is gaining momentum, reporting steady development in usage among subscribers who see the need for it.

The commission revealed this in its latest MNP status report, with executive vice chairman Dr Eugene Juwah saying the NCC launched MNP to empower subscribers to make choices when they are unsatisfied with the quality of service (QoS) on their networks.

Mr. Sylbriks Obiriki,
Senior Special Adviser (SSA)
on SERVICOM to the President

Written by Dele Ogbodo

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Service Compact with all Nigerians (ServiCom),an agency under the presidency, have jointly begun a fresh advocacy for the implementation of quality service delivery among telecoms operators.

Emphasising the entrenchment of quality service by Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) on Servicom to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Sylbriks Obriki, said: "When we are talking about service delivery, time remains a critical aspect of it. When you understand the use of time, service delivery becomes simpler than any other thing. Delivering service to the people depends on how time is used."

By Emmanuel Okwuke

Latest official statistics released the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Wednesday, indicate that more than 87, 887 telephone lines ported from one network to another in the first 10 months of the launch of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme in the country.

The figure comprises porting in and out and of all the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) networks which include: MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat.

Written by Daniel Obi

As fraud and insecurity increasingly become more IT based globally, government and other industry stakeholders came together in Lagos yesterday to fashion out a workable blue print to protect Nigeria from cyber security vulnerability.

To the organisers, which included the Office of the National Security Adviser, Federal Ministry of Justice, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), observed that the cyberspace has ushered in new opportunities and security challenges, as wars are now fought and won in the cyberspace, which has also become a highway for fraud and other crimes.

Written by Prince Osuagwu

Those who base their mobile power on the strength of voice penetration, are living technology from the rear end. Much as revenue from voice genre of mobile business has turned many economies around, facts are emerging everyday, that data seems to be the future.

Nigeria, as one of the countries which ubiquitous voice penetration spurned its history from a pariah telecommunications nation to one of the frontline mobile economies of the world, seems not oblivious of this fact.

Even in the euphoria of being recognised as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, the sector was also thinking of ways to sustain the tempo and at the same time leapfrog to the future, in the ever dynamic technology world.

Written by Adeyemi Adepetun

BETWEEN 2001 and now, over 63 million Nigerians have been connected to the Internet.

The Minister of Communications Technology Dr. Omobola Johnson, disclosed this information at the closing out session of the 2014 Nigeria Internet Governance Forum held in Lagos, yesterday.

NIGF is a coalition formed among the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, the Information Technology development Agency of Nigeria (NITDA) the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), as the Nigeria Internet Registration Council of Nigeria (NIRA).

By Emanuel Okwuke

Senior IT. Correspondent The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has presented N2.5 million to the lead research on the implementation of Software-Based Nomadic Base Station. Also, the telecoms sector regulator has commissioned its Advanced Digital Awareness Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI) and Digital Access Programme (DAP) projects in over 297 institutions of higher learning and secondary technical schools across the country.

By Paul Adepoju

Nigeria’s Broadband Council has admitted progress made on the year-old National Broadband Plan has been slower than expected.

Reviewing the progress at the recently held fourth Broadband Council meeting in Lagos, the council said broadband penetration since the implementation of the plan has only increased to 6.8 per cent from 6 per cent.

By Emmanuel Ugwu

Amid complaints that many consumers find it difficult to access the customer support services of telecoms operators, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has taken steps to take policy action and further regulatory intervention to protect consumers.

To this end the commission intends to generate such policy framework through the outcome of its Consumer Outreach Programmes. At the 63rd edition of the Consumer Outreach programme of the NCC held in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state, the need for service providers to pay extra attention to the needs and concerns of consumers took the centre stage.

Mrs. Omobola Johnson
Nigeria's Minister of
Communications Technology

By Emma Okonji

DigitalSense Africa Media has been commended for its role in keeping Nigerians informed on latest development about internet governance through its yearly conferences.

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, gave the commendation during the 2014 edition of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum held in Lagos recently.

It was hailed for consistency in hosting the annual Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) and the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable conference.

By Lanre Adewole-Lagos

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, granted an exparte application seeking leave for an order of mandamus compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the controversial $475 million (N76 billion) moribund CCTV project, awarded to ZTE Corporation by the Federal Government.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola gave the order after listening to the applicant, Olugbenga Adeyemi, who sued as a concerned Nigerian.

Respondents in the suit are the EFCC, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Nigeria Police Force, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria Communication Commission, ZTE Corporation and Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited.

Mr. Okechukwu Itanyi, Executive
Commissioner, Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC)

Mr Okey Itanyi, Executive Commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has restated the agency’s commitment to ensuring quality telecom service delivery by operators.

The commissioner stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

He said the agency would no longer tolerate any operator or persons violating NCC’s Act or allow any operator to use illegal equipment that could disrupt service.

“We are committed to ensuring quality service delivery and protecting the interest of stakeholders – consumers, service providers, government.

“We are working with the operators to improve the quality of their services; we sanctioned some of them recently but we are looking forward to getting improved services,’’ Itanyi said.

Written by Mathew Ayorinde

Many users of telecom services in Nigeria hold the belief that the general poor quality of services is a deliberate act on the part of the operators to rip-off subscribers and maximise profits. This has accounted for the trend whereby the average working-class citizen and entrepreneur own more than one mobile phone or multiple subscriber identification modules (sim cards), the number portability option notwithstanding.

Dr. Eugene Juwah
Executive Vice Chairman
NCC

By Okechukwu Okonta.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, has told the international community to expect a broadband boom in the Nigeria’s telecoms sector. He gave the promise during his presentation at the sub-Saharan Africa Regional Summit at the GSMA Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. According to Juwah, the success attained with the voice services will be replicated in the Nigerian broadband market.

He feels sure that the telecom revolution phase of Nigeria’s development has passed and has to give way to the broadband revolution that will eventually impact positively in the lives of every Nigerian. He therefore told the audience to expect mobile broadband boom in Nigeria whose teledensity has grown from 400,000 telephone lines in 2001 to the 120 million subscribers (and still counting), representing a ratio of 0.04 percent and 86 percent teledensity in 1999 and 2012 respectively.

Written by Sopuruchi Nnaemeka

Survival of the fittest has gone beyond Darwin’s principles of natural adaptation to being the driving force of entrepreneurship.

Competition for scarce resources, which in this case are the factors of production - land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship has been quite exhausting for Nigeria’s small telecom companies.

This therefore calls for concerted effort on the part of the sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to device a survival strategy for small operators. Although this appeal may seem preposterous as this is in no way part of the commission’s mandate, it is nevertheless in good fate, considering how the sector has grown in leaps and bounds and how the fringe players could actually fill those gaps and plug the holes left by the big operators.

By Adebola Ojikutu

Since its inception, privatisation, deregulation and liberalisation in 1999, Nigeria’s telecom sector has made monumental progress and contributions to the nation’s economy. From a mere 1 percent and less than a million analogue lines as at 2001, there has evolved an escalation to about 170 million connected and 128 million active mobile and fixed telephone lines, bringing teledensity to about 91 percent of the total population.

By Justin Eradiri

When the broadband masterplan was launched in 2012, the Nigerian Communications Commission declared its preparedness to propel the country to the next level of digital communications in pursuit of robust economic and technological advancement. The masterplan is a detailed road map for achieving the broadband revolution.

The last mile to that destination was boldly taken on February the 19th, 2014, when the license for the remaining 30 MGh frequency slot on the 2.3GHz spectrum band was given out to new entrants and winners of the bid, Bitflux Communications Limited in an auction.