TECH DIGEST- The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Thursday in Abuja, told a gathering designed for State Governors that the potentials of broadband are so enormous that if made available for their citizens, will be the best gift for their economic emancipation.

Pantami told the state governors and their representatives and other industry stakeholders at the maiden edition of Broadband Technical Awareness Forum for Governors (BTAF), organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), where Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, gave an impressive report card about what he has already achieved with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the education sector, and many other sectors of the Edo State economy.

READ ALSO: Pantami Launches Partnership with Coursera to Offer 24,000 Nigerians Digital Skills

Pantami stated that greater support and collaboration will be required from the State governors towards addressing challenges to broadband infrastructure deployment by the telecom companies, which are expected to deploy required infrastructure to provide broadband services in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

“This is because, more than ever before, our security, economic and educational development rely on having state-based broadband structure and framework that will articulate the key targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, and this is the essence of this forum today,” he said.

According to the Minister, access to broadband is globally recognized today as a necessity and not luxury and that explains Federal Government’s decision to develop broadband plans aimed at deepening in-country connectivity to enhance socio-economic development.

The Minister who established correlates between broadband penetration and growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), stated that countries with high density of broadband network have higher GDP per capital for the citizens. He said the steady growth in broadband penetration over the years in Nigeria is directly reflecting on the economic growth of the country.

Gov. Obaseki, who delivered a goodwill message on behalf of other state governors and listed efforts made by state governments in encouraging broadband infrastructure deployment, assured stakeholders of the readiness and willingness of the state governments to work more with the Federal Government but emphasized the need for increased open dialogue and trust between the States and the Federal Government.

Representatives of other state governors also expressed their determination to co-operate more with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the NCC and other telecoms companies to facilitate deployment of fibre infrastructure which they believe would improve the socio-economic lives of citizens.

Chairman, Board of Commissioners at NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, had in his remarks, said Nigeria deserves to be in tune as the world goes digital in all spheres, as we cannot afford to lag in being among the countries leveraging broadband for socio-economic development.

“We recognize the fact that Nigeria is a nation with federating units. Hence, it would be difficult to achieve faster and desired broadband penetration level without effective collaboration with the state governors,” he said. Akande particularly emphasised the centrality of synergy to tackle all challenges undermining broadband deployment, particularly multiple taxation, right of way (RoW), denial of access to telecoms sites for maintenance, vandalism, insecurity, among others” the Chairman of NCC Board of Commissioners said.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his own submission, said the objective of the event was to seek better understanding and rich resolutions to all issues affecting faster broadband deployment. He reminded participants that, “though we are making gradual progress towards our target, but this forum will provide us with deeper insights on how to address identified challenges to broadband deployment.”

At the event attended by over 170 delegates and following discussion at the technical panel session, several resolutions were made towards ensuring accessible, available, and affordable broadband services that will support the overall socio-economic development in the country. A key decision taken at the forum is the urgent need to establish State Broadband Coordinating Council, as a Sub-National Structure at the state level which is urgently required to enhance the accomplishment of the objectives of the NNBP.

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TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is vigorously promoting local investment in digital infrastructure and competition in the provision of accessible high speed broadband infrastructure, says Professor Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Commission.

The EVC made the remark in his keynote addresses titled: “Establishing Rules and Laws for the Effective Implementation of Local Content Promotion Policy in the National Telecoms Sector”, at the inaugural edition of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (Piafo-001) on National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector held on Thursday, August 12, 2021.

Danbatta who described ‘Indigenous Content Policy’ as generally refers to “any policy that encourages the development of indigenous skills, technology transfer, use of indigenous manpower and indigenous manufacturing”, said that with advancements in technology, administrations have come to recognize the need for their indigenes to participate actively in exploitation and transformation of their resources into goods and services aimed at economic growth.

“As we are all aware, the Federal Government has put in place very robust policy and legal framework for local content within the oil and gas sector. Similarly, the advent of local content in the Nigerian Telecoms sector is probably as old as the Nigerian telecoms revolution itself.

The National Telecommunications Policy (Cap 13, National Telecom Policy 2000) posited that the domestic production of telecommunications hardware and software is desirable for national development.

It further states that, Government shall encourage domestic production of telecommunications equipment, components and software to meet local and export demands”, he said.

He said that in giving legal backing to the above policy direction, the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 identifies, as one of its primary objects the encouragement of local and foreign investments in the Nigerian communications industry.

“With the steady evolution of Telecommunications in Nigeria, the industry and its infrastructure are appreciated as the infrastructure of infrastructures, positioned to drive growth and efficiency in every other sector (both private and public) by supporting the optimization of institutions and processes in the ecosystem. Accordingly, the development of effective local participation at all levels of the value chain becomes a sine-qua-non to the overarching national economic development and market success”.

While giving updates on Indigenous Content Valorization in the Nigerian telecom industry, the EVC said that the Federal Government recently reinforced the local content agenda by putting in place Executive Order 003 of 2017 and Executive Order 005 of 2018 titled Support for Local Content in Public Procurement by the Federal Government and Development of Local Content in Science, Engineering and Technology respectively.

“The Commission instituted several measures and strategies towards ensuring compliance by the industry to the aforementioned Executive Orders, these include building local capacity through various initiatives and innovations which are aimed at encouraging digital skills and entrepreneurship as well as building local investment (infrastructure).

This will in turn enable the Commission to deliver on the stipulated targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025.

Towards achieving the mandate, the Commission has developed a licensing framework to enable infrastructure companies (INFRACOs) roll out optical fibre cables for communications in the 774 Local Government Areas that make-up the Federation.

The Commission also ensures full utilization of spectrum for deployment of services through Re-farming, Re-planning and Auctioning.

His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, On March 8, 2021 presented the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecom Sector. The Policy (a.k.a NPPIC) seeks to accelerate the pace of indigenous digital capacity development and thereby enhance national competitiveness and prosperity for indigenous/local players in Nigeria”, Danbatta said.

He said that in the Policy document, there are clearly defined objectives identified for each focus area with expected significant impact that a concerted implementation would have on the sector and the national economy.

“In addition, the Commission has developed an action plan to help guide the implementation of the Policy. To this effect, the Commission has articulated several targets and high impact interventions, which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based to address the major policy areas.

“The focus policy areas are Manufacturing, Software Development, Compliance Monitoring, Licensing, Funding, People, and Research & Development for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, the EVC added.

NCC’s Roadmap for implementation of the Policy for the Promotion of Local Investment (content) in the Nigerian Telecom Sector
Speaking further, the NCC boss said that as required by the Policy, the Commission has established the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS).

“This Office is saddled with the responsibility of implementation of the NPPIC as well as the Executive Orders 003 and 005. Relevant portions of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 as well as the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) are also under the purview of this new office called NODITS.

“Other Departments within the Commission are equally saddled with responsibilities that help to inculcate indigenous participation in the telecom sector. Efforts being made by the Research & Development and Licensing Departments are worthy of mention in that regard. Under the auspices of the Research & Development Department, the Commission has sponsored research efforts in several universities across the country.

Notable areas of research conducted include “Development of All Weather Solar Systems For Energy Optimization in a Mobile Communications Base Stations” (at Ekiti State University of Technology), “Design and Fabrication of Meta-material Inspired UWB/MIMO Antenna for the 5G-Sub 6GHz Application” (at Taraba State University) and “Intelligent Autonomous Multi-UAVs (Multiple Drones) Swarm Monitoring for Effective Surveillance and Situation Awareness in the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry” (at Gombe State University).

By these activities the Commission seeks to identify with and harness local resources in Nigerian institutions of learning for the benefit of the industry.

Through R&D, the Commission has also successfully initiated Professorial Chairs in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), University of Ibadan, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) and Bayero University Kano.

This is informed by the need to establish concrete local linkages to deepen the relationship between the telecom industry and the academia in Nigeria; and to provide the missing integration and collaborative partnership required to galvanise qualitative indigenous solutions in telecommunications in Nigeria. R&D also supports the development of local Tech-Hubs and hackathon initiatives aimed at supporting indigenous upstarts, App developers and ICT innovators in general”.

Meanwhile, NCC has identified several areas of collaboration with other Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations such as National Office for Technology Acquisition & Promotion (NOTAP), Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), National Agency for Science & Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Rockefeller Foundation. Equally, there are plans towards direct intervention in line with subsisting policies e.g., in the local production of corrugated optical ducts (COD) to cater for fibre requirements in Nigeria and ultimately for export.

Danbatta said the Commission was pleased to collaborate with Business Metrics and their partners to deliver the maiden initiative of its Policy Implementation Assisted Forum on the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (aka PIAFo-001).

He said that the Commission considers stakeholder engagement and consultation as a key strategic regulatory approach hence the success story of the sector is largely attributable to the wide consultations and engagements employed at every step of the sectors journey.

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TECHDIGEST – Two regulatory instruments under revision: the Annual Operating Levy Regulations (AOL) and the Frequency Spectrum (Fees and Pricing, etc.) Regulations will help in strengthening and ensuring a fair and competitive telecoms market in Nigeria, according to the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.

This week in Abuja, the NCC organized a public inquiry on the two major regulatory instruments, notes a an official statement by the commission and signed by Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.

The first instrument on AOL ensures that all licensees are properly and equitably assessed for the annual levy as well as meeting both statutory and regulatory expectations. Its review is expected to bring the Regulations in line with current realities and sustain the enviable contributions of the communications sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The second instrument on frequency spectrum fee and pricing enables the commission to meet its sole and exclusive mandate in Section 21 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 by assigning the scarce national resource in an equitable manner. The Regulations also ensures that frequency spectrum are assigned and managed in a way that ensures fair pricing and efficient deployment of attendant services.

Speaking during the event, Danbatta said the public inquiry not only reflects the commission’s strategic mission and vision to ensure regulatory excellence through effective regulatory processes but also sign posts the commission’s consultative approach to all its regulatory initiatives.

He said the public inquiry was a precursor to the commission’s current drive to ensure efficiency in spectrum management and the unveiling of next generation services through varied enablers, adding that it was in this regard that the Commission issued a Spectrum Trading Guidelines (STG) in 2018, to ensure frequency Spectrum is readily available to licensees through an effective process.

“Furthermore, the commission has commenced the process of deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria and is driving the provision of such ubiquitous services on making frequency Spectrum available to the licensees. The efficacy and reliability of the initiatives will be hinged on proper market valuation of the frequency spectrum and fair assessment of levies,” he said.

NCC’s Danbatta Counseled On Why Regulations Must Keep Abreast Of Tech Trends At Book Launch On Telecoms Law
With the explosion in technologies, Danbatta said there has also been an attendant secondary reliance on different approaches to drive the best out of different frequency spectrum. He said this has led to the need for designation of several bands of frequency spectrum for communications services and a key illustration is the recent identification of some Spectrum frequencies for 5G deployment.

The EVC said the commission is conscious of the expectations and the need to ensure that all regulatory instruments are made ready to meet these challenges, adding that this has made the reviews which the Commission is conducting an important milestone as the public inquiry in pushing the country to the front queue of this global efforts.

“Hence, we must be prepared on both ends of the industry to prepare the country for these remarkable changes; while the licensees continue to invest in deployment, the Commission will sustain its drive by ensuring regulatory efficiency and excellence,” he said.

Danbatta further acknowledged that the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030 are all tailored to ensure that the commission deploys new initiatives, build regulatory efficiency and ensure market stability.

He said the policy documents highlight the central nature of frequency spectrum in meeting most of their baseline objectives. “This has made the ongoing review not just necessary but inevitable to facilitate the attainments of these objectives,” he said.

Presentations were made on the comments, inputs and recommendations received from external stakeholders on the two regulatory instruments prior to the public enquiry as well as the amended sections and new provisions made to the two regulations.

Participants at the event made valuable contributions and raised issues that would assist the commission in developing robust regulatory instruments that will continually contribute to the development of the industry and sustain its positive contribution to the nation’s economy.

The public enquiry was attended by the NCC’s Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Prof. Adeolu Akande; Chairman, Licensing Committee of the Board, Salman Abdul-Azeez; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Ubale Maska; Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Adeleke Adewolu; Senior Management staff and other industry stakeholders both physically and virtually.

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TECH DIGEST – Over one year after the 36 state governors agreed to implement the unified rate of N145 per linear metre fee for Right of Way (RoW) in the laying of fibre optic cables for broadband deployment, 29 states have refused to implement the agreement, a situation that is slowing down the pace of broadband deployment and penetration in the country.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, who delivered the keynote address at a recent virtual stakeholders’ forum, organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said few days ago, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, gave his consent in writing, to begin the implementation of the agreement in the state.

The recent development would take the total number of states implementing the new RoW fee to seven, which includes: Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Ekiti, Kwara, Anambra and Imo.

Worried about the development, Pantami appealed to the 29 state governors to consider implementing the new rate as earlier agreed, to enable Nigeria meet its 70 per cent broadband penetration target by 2025, as enshrined in the 2020-2025 Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP).

According to the Minister, he had engaged with the members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), facilitated by its chairman, the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on the 22nd of January 2020, and they agreed on the unified rate.

“At that meeting, I made a presentation on the benefits of broadband and requested the buy-in of the governors for the implementation of Broadband Plan and the Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria, and the governors unanimously agreed to adopt a maximum of N145/linear metre.

“Some of the governors have even waived this amount altogether. Many of the governors have begun full implementation and some have notified us in writing.

“We received reports that some states have introduced some extraneous charges that have increased the charges beyond the amount agreed. We are discussing with states involved in such cases, with a view to addressing the disparity,” Pantami said.

Before the January 2020 meeting there was disparity in the fees charged by state governors in their respective states, which range between N500 to N6,000 per linear metre.

Pantami’s keynote address, which focused on the importance of broadband in national development, also assessed the level of broadband penetration in the country and how to achieve the country’s broadband strategies, which seek to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria at a minimum of 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90 per cent of the population and penetration rate of 70 per cent by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data.

The NNBP also targets the deployment of nationwide fibre coverage to reach all state capitals, and provision of a point of presence in at least 90 per cent of local government headquarters. It also targets tertiary educational institutions, major hospitals in each state and fibre connectivity at statutory rates of N145/meter for Right of Way (RoW).

President of ATCON, Ikechukwu Nnamani, in his opening remarks, said: “The development of a solid digital economy rests on the foundation of a well distributed broadband infrastructure and involves the convergence of all technology types and classes of service.

“To this end we have brought together key industry leaders cutting across the nine sub-group of ATCON’s membership to discuss and strategise with the leadership of the public sector on the best ways to achieve an accelerated implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan.”

Chairman of MTN Board of Directors, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, said the private sector must be actively engaged in achieving the Nigerian National Broadband Plan, because broadband is the driver of economic growth and development. He stressed the need for more telecoms infrastructure rollout by telecoms operators and the need for funding of broadband rollout in rural areas by government.

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