The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has again pledged to support all telecom operators in the country, including supposedly small operators in a bid to ensure a more competitive and sustainable telecoms sector.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta gave the pledge at a two-day tripartite dialogue of the Commission tagged, ‘Talk To The Regulator (TTTR) Forum’ which was held in Kano last week.
While urging all telecom licensees to always comply with the provisions of extant laws, subsidiary legislations and other regulatory frameworks put in place by the Commission, Prof. Danbatta promised to engender effective regulatory environment for all players in the industry.
“There is a need for licensees to support several initiatives carefully designed to enhance market opportunities for all its licensees,” he said at the forum attended by more than 104 telecoms licensees in different categories and segments of the Nigerian telecoms market as well as consumers of telecoms services.
He argued that telecoms industry sustainability can only be guaranteed where all licensees ensure full and effective compliance with licence conditions and other regulatory prescriptions. “So, this forum provides an opportunity to discuss areas where some of our licensees are falling short of their licence obligations, and how we can collectively improve on the present situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the telecom regulator has highlighted some of the key policies that have been articulated by the Federal Government, including the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS, 2020-2030); the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP, 2020-202), the Revised national Digital Identity Policy for SIM Registration, among others, and sought the licensees’ full and unalloyed commitment to ensure their successful implementation.
These include the recently-launched NCC’s five-pillar Strategic Vision Plan (SVP, 2021,2025); commencement of a comprehensive review of its licensing frameworks; ongoing reviews of other key regulatory instruments to align with the rapidly emerging contemporary developments; ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) linkage exercise; as well as the ongoing efforts to launch the Fifth Generation (5G) network in Nigeria.