By Aaron Ukodie
Nigerians are looking to professor Umar Danbatta- led Nigerian Communication Commission ( NCC) to surpass in 2020, the successes it recorded in telecom regulation and the sectors contribution to the national economy in 2019.
In 2019, the NCC carried out a number of regulatory activities that ensured increased access to telecoms services, increased consumer education and protection, boosting security of lives and property, sanitising the industry while also driving other initiatives aimed at spurring innovation in the telecoms sector and continuously galvanising the country’s overall economic growth.
And despite the challenges that confronted the sector, the sector was able to record impressive statistics during the year, courtesy of smart and effective regulatory role of the Commission that resulted in impressive outcomes in 2019 and providing leverage for greater performance into 2020.
Some of the numerous achievements of the NCC in 2019, which the Commission is eying to drive the economy in 2020 include the 10 Value-Added Service (VAS) Aggregators licensed in 2019.
The VAS companies are expected to boost competitiveness of the value added market and leveraged by the sector to unlock the huge potentials of the telecom market estimated at $500 million (over N160 billion).
The licensees VAS companies are I-Cell Multimedia Limited, Nina-Jojer Limited, 21st Century Technologies Limited, Nitroswitch Limited, HML Consulting Limited, Iykejordan Limited, Cognys Systems Limited, Perpetual Communications Limited, Mobile Intelligence Limited and Aerandir Technologies Nigeria Limited.
In 2020, the telecom sector is primed to improve on the about 14 per cent it contributed to the gross domestic product in 2019, while teledensity put at 94.50 percent, is expected to shoot up with the rise in the country’s population in the new year.
With the reconstitution of the 23-man National Broadband Commission (NBC) and the approval of the about N65 billion needed to be injected into the operation of the recently licensed six infrastructure companies broadband penetration would go up in 2020 from the 2019 recorded level of 37.87 per cent.
Stakeholders believe the NCC is well positioned and should be adequately supported by the government through relevant policies to drive the actualisation of the country’s digital economy policy strategy in the New Year.
This has become necessary since, as usual, the Commission is expected to take the driver’s seat in the actualisation of the new 2020-2025 broadband target being worked on by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy.
The new five year plan which takes off from today is expected to take broadband penetration to 70% in the next five years, from the already achieved level of 33 per cent.
Danbatta believes that the Commission’s broadband focus from 2020 would deliver healthcare, best quality education even to generations unborn, streamline transportation, meet up with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and transform the economy into a digital one.
With the 5G network, expected to take off in 2020, unleashing greater digital revolution in the country, Nigerians are expected to have access to faster broadband speed to carry out personal and official activities, bringing about more efficiency, effectiveness and growth.
The granting of the first landing right permit to Avanti Communications Groups Plc, a United Kingdom-based satellite operator, for hosting of its HYLAS 4 Satellite specie segment over Nigerian territory was yet another big step forward by the NCC and the Nigerian economy as the deployment would enable immediate broadband access and faster internet services to Nigerians.
Commenting on the granting of the license to his company, Avanti Chief Regulatory Officer, Ann Vandenbroucke noted that his company was “attracted to invest in Nigeria because of the stable and predictable regulatory environment.”
This stable and predictable regulatory environment should be maintained in the years ahead to boost more investors confidence in injecting more fund in the sector to realise the digital economy policies of the president Mohammadu Buhari government.
