TECHDIGEST-The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has recruited Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC), a worldwide consulting firm, to analyze the existing degree of performance inside the collocation and infrastructure sharing (CIS) segment of the telecom sector, which currently has 78 licensees. The NCC is using its regulatory powers under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) of 2003 to hire the consulting firm. The research will be completed between April and July 2022.

Yetunde Akinloye, Director, Policy, Competition and Economy Analysis (PCEA) at NCC, who spoke on behalf of EVC Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta at a stakeholder’s forum in Lagos, said the study will provide the Commission with insightful and evidence-based facts on the dynamics at play and ensure the continued growth of the CIS segment of the telecom market. The study is a priority for NCC, according to Akinloye, because the collocation and infrastructure sharing portion of the telecom ecosystem plays a crucial role in guaranteeing reliable services. The stakeholders’ forum, according to Akinloye, was organized to inform operators in the CIS section of the telecom market about the study and to ensure their buy-in and cooperation with the consultants conducting it. According to Akinloye, the NCC undertakes periodic studies to analyze the level of competition in the industry in order to fulfill its purpose of establishing an enabling environment for industry competition as well as assuring the supply of high-quality and efficient telecoms services.

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“Having successfully conducted competition assessment studies in 2005, 2010, and 2013, the Commission had issued determinations based on the findings of the studies while the outcome of such studies has also enabled the Commission to come up with various regulatory interventions and initiatives to continuously provide a level-playing field for the interplay of market forces. These procedures are emplaced by the Commission to ensure fair, efficient, and sustainable competition in the Nigerian telecom industry,” Akinloye said.

Despite the Commission’s substantial progress, she added that major developments and activity in some market areas of the industry had compelled the execution of another competition analysis following the successful completion of the 2013 research. For example, the CIS market category was still in its infancy when the 2013 study was done, and as a result, little emphasis was placed on it. “However, the CIS segment has experienced substantial expansion and transition over the years, with over 80 licensees working in the category, and its performance and activities continue to have a significant impact on other segments of the Nigerian industry,” says the report.  The Director PCEA also informed that activities in the CIS market have also attained the targets set out in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025)”.

The study’s overall objective, according to Akinloye, is to provide current insights into the level of competition in the CIS market segment, as well as articulate strategies to enhance market opportunities and ensure the deepening of competition, which will ultimately support the provision of innovative services for the benefit of both market players and consumers at large. The forum, according to Akinloye, allows stakeholders to learn about the study’s purpose, scope, and methodology, as well as ensure that the questionnaire or Request for Information (RFI) produced by the consultants assess the amount of competition in the market is thoroughly understood.

Bako Wakil, NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, requested full cooperation from licensees in the CIS segment of the telecom market whenever consultants approached them for relevant information, either through the RFI or one-on-one sessions with consultants during the study’s implementation. The study, according to Wakil, is in the best interests of CIS licensees, other players, and consumers. It will also give the Commission helpful and evidence-based insights needed to promote healthy competition and a level playing field in the CIS segment, as well as ensure the telecommunications industry’s long-term viability. “Also, rest assured of the confidentiality of any information provided to the Commission in the course of this study, no matter how sensitive,” Bako said to the enthusiastic audience.

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TECHDIGEST – Nigeria’s global ranking as a model in telecom regulation, and her status as a leading light of operational efficiency, solidarity and collaborative partnering in sub-regional and Continental telecommunication sphere, received a boost recently when a delegation from the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) of Sierra Leone, paid a visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for benchmarking of NCC’s regulatory policies, programmes and activities.

The Sierra Leonean delegation, led by Amara Brewah, NATCOM’s Deputy Director-General, was received at NCC’s head office by Engr. Ubale Maska, NCC’s Exectutive Commissioner Technical Services (ECTS), on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta.

Brewah expressed gratitude to NCC for the reception despite the short notice given, and stated that NCC’s gesture resounded the value it accords the relationship that exists between the two organisations.

He thanked the Management of NCC for the opportunity offered his team and described their interaction with many departments of the NCC as very engaging, quite rewarding and very contextual, considering that the two countries operated under similar circumstances and have had to contend with similar operational issues.

Brewah regretted that the short notification was due to an equally engaging sessions he and his team had at a recent forum of the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA).

Maska, who warmly received the visitors, informed them that the EVC was scheduled to carry out an important international assignment before the planned visit of the Sierra Leonean counterpart was received by the Commission.

He told the visitors that, otherwise, the EVC would have loved to personally receive them because the NCC attaches great importance to visitations and exchanges by its counterparts, especially in the sub-region and on the Continent.

The ECTS said that the value NCC bestows on sub-regional and continental collaboration and partnership explained EVC’s gracious approval of the request and directive to him to receive the Sierra Leonean delegation despite the short notice. Maska said the NCC Management was pleased by the fact that the NATCOM delegation found the visit and the engagement with many departments of NCC quite rewarding.

He said the Nigerian Communications Commission is quite appreciative of the trust and confidence reposed in it and in Nigeria by institutions like NATCOM, and the NCC looks forward unreservedly “to also learn how Sierra Leone handled some of its challenges in telecom regulation and other matters of similar interest, because we are also seek ways of improving our operations.”

Engr. Bako Wakil, the director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity (DTSNI) at NCC, also expressed joy at seeing the Sierra Leonean delegation. He thanked them for the visit and expressed NCC’s willingness to share more information with the visitors, especially on Quality of Service (Qos) matters, one of the central issues on which NCC never rested its oars in ensuring continuous improvement.

The NCC Management team that received the visitors include Reuben Muoka, Head Special Duties, whose Department co-ordinated the reception for the NATCOM team, Hafiz Shehu, Chief of Staff to the EVC, and Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, Head Online Media, who represented the Director Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.

Other members of the delegation from Sierra Leone were: Hon. Brima Mansaray, Member of the Information and Communications Committee of the Parliament of Sierra Leone; Paul Squire Esq., Member of NATCOM Board of Commissioners; Abdul Bah, Director Information Technology at NATCOM; Harding Tommy, Director Policy and Government Relations; and Shaka Sasha, Manager, Fraud Management Systems.

The delegation had engaging interactions with many arms of NCC including, the Departments of Digital Economy, Licensing and Authorization, Legal and Regulatory Services, TSNI, and Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis.

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