TECH DIGEST- Amidst discussions about potential hikes in telecom tariffs, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is championing a different approach: fostering homegrown content to enhance telecom services and diminish dependency on imports. Prof Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, stressed this imperative during the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023), citing the stable nature of telecom tariffs in Nigeria despite rising costs and forex fluctuations.

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Danbatta acknowledged that the stability of tariffs could be sustained if the telecom industry embraced the creation of indigenous content, thus reducing reliance on imported components. He articulated, “Quality of Service and Experience have improved in Nigerian telecommunications, but the key to maintaining this without tariff hikes lies in nurturing local innovation.”

Asserting the NCC’s alignment with the Federal Government’s vision for a robust Nigerian economy, Danbatta highlighted the establishment of the Nigeria Office for Development of Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) in July 2021. NODITS, operating under the NCC’s aegis, is tasked with driving the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector.

NODITS is advancing across four pivotal realms: Manufacturing, Human Capacity, Research and Development (R&D), and Software and Services Development. The EVC emphasized, “NTICE stands as an embodiment of NCC’s accomplishments through NODITS, fostering not only strategic partnering but also emerging as the industry’s premier indigenous content event.”

Furthermore, NCC’s initiatives have culminated in fostering local manufacturing capabilities. An example is the Corrugated Optical Duct (COD), designed to shield fiber infrastructure from persistent damages, thus contributing to the overall robustness of the network.

Danbatta’s comprehensive address underscored the NCC’s commitment to fortifying the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) landscape, nurturing young talents and innovations, and catalyzing investment. Additionally, NCC’s ban on importing whole-body SIM cards, introduced at the inaugural NTICE, has not only alleviated foreign exchange pressures but also fostered a local industry worth over N55 billion. The tangible outcome: job creation and economic growth.

In the midst of escalating costs, Nigerian telecom operators have been advocating for tariff increases. However, the regulatory stance of the NCC has thus far halted such increments, citing a lack of compelling justification. As discussions continue, the NCC’s proactive approach highlights the transformative potential of homegrown content in not only stabilizing tariffs but also nurturing innovation and bolstering the nation’s digital landscape.

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TECHDIGEST – Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed has drawn a battle line with her Communication and Digital Economy counterpart, Professor Isa Ali Pantami over the planned collection of the increased tariff of five per cent on internet data and phone calls.

Against Pantami’s threats to stop implementation of the increased tariff on telecommunication consumers, saying it will scuttle the growth in the sector, the finance minister said government is going ahead to implement the new tariff hike no matter the opposition. She said the five per cent hike has been in the Finance Act 2020, but was never been implemented.

The finance minister made the remarks during a stakeholders’ meeting that was organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). She was represented by the assistant director, tax policy in her ministry, Musa Umar. “Henceforth, the five percent excise duty will be collected by telecom operators and payment made to the federal government on a monthly basis, on or before 21st of every month,” the minister said yesterday.

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Pantami had rejected the planned implementation of five percent excise duty in the Nigerian telecoms sector. He expressed his disapproval for the policy at a telecom forum in Lagos that was organised by the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS), an agency domiciled in the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

He said that he would explore every legitimate means to stop the planned five percent excise duty tax on telecom consumers, faulting the timing and process of imposing the tax on the telecom industry, insisting that part of the responsibility of a responsive government was not to increase the challenges citizens were facing.

“I have not been contacted officially. If we are, we surely will state our case. The sector that contributes to the economy should be encouraged. You introduce excise duty to discourage luxury goods like alcohol, but broadband in the telecom sector is a necessity,” he told the gathering in Lagos.

But the finance minister said Pantami cannot claim to be absented in the whole processes that resulted in the Finance Act, which is a product of both the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Ahmed said Pantami was involved in the making of the Finance Act which spells the said excise tariff hike policy. Therefore, “he could not obviously have had a point in his ‘dissenting views’ even as the National Assembly could not have contradicted itself on this matter, because the parliament had passed the Finance Bill before President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law,” she said.

Mrs Ahmed said the federal government introduced “Telecommunication Services” in line with the Finance Act.

Nigeria is one of the largest telecommunication markets in Africa. Available report from the NCC shows four categories of operators, i.e., mobile (GSM), fixed telephony operators (fixed/fixed wireless), internet service providers (ISPS) and others (operators other than mobile & fixed telephony, ISPs).

Subscriber number continues to grow substantially, having increased from about 180 million subscribers in 2019 to over 200 million active subscriptions in 2020. This represents an increase of over nearly 11 percent in total subscriptions. Moreover, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa such as Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Burundi currently impose excise duty on telecommunication services ranging between five per cent to 20 per cent.

The excise duty on telecommunication services provided in Nigeria introduced through the Finance Act, 2020 with statutory enactment on 1st January, 2021 is yet to be implemented till date.

The government said the delay was to consider the need to ensure reasonable transition period before the implementation of the new tax, as well as providing clarity to all stakeholders on implementation modalities.

The finance minister claimed that she had through a circular dated 1st March, 2022 informed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other heads of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the Federal Ministry of Communication & Digital Economy about Buhari’s approval of the implementation of the five percent excise duty on telecommunication services with effect from 1st June, 2022.

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TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian government has banned the importation of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami announced this Monday in Lagos at the maiden edition of Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE).

He said as Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, SIM cards should have long become a domestically manufactured product.

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With more than 200 million phone users and by implication SIM cards running on the networks, Nigeria should not be importing SIM cards, the minister told stakeholders at the NTICE organized by the Nigeria Office for Developing Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

His words: “Let me make it clear that the federal government will no longer tolerate the importation of SIM cards. We are now producing them in Nigeria. Our aim is to increase indigenous content in the ICT sector so that by 2025, we will be self-reliant by at least 80 percent.”

He urged stakeholders and citizens to support government efforts to boost local patronage and consumption.

“If we do this, history will be kind to all of us” said the professor of Cybersecurity.

The minister had in June announced the establishment of a SIM card manufacturing plant in Lagos built with private sector support with capacity to produce 200 million cards annually for local consumption and export.

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TECHDIGEST – As part of efforts toward the protection of the telecom industry, which contributes impressively to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has insisted that Nigeria will no longer import telecom products and services that can be manufactured locally.

The Minister, who was speaking at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE), 2022 held at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, said this will heavily reverse the trend of importation of all types of telecommunications products, especially where production in Nigeria is possible.

“Government had put efforts towards the protection of the telecom industry, which contributes impressively to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by insisting on the drastic reduction in the reliance on foreign products. Thus, importation of such products like Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards that can be produced in Nigeria is discouraged,” he said.

The Minister, who commended the Nigerian Communications Commission for organizing the (NTICE) expo, also condemned the proposed five percent excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria. He argued that the Ministry, which oversees the industry, was not consulted and that the timing of such duty in a period of hardship as is being witnessed in Nigeria today is antithetical to the growth of the industry.

“I was not consulted before the decision on five percent excise duty was reached, and it was unfair to impose such a tax on an industry that was already burdened with other taxes and already contributing about 17 percent to the country’s revenue,” he said.

Pantami told his audience, including the Chairman of the House Committee on Telecommunications, Hon. Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi, that his position was already shared by the National Assembly which was also not consulted on the issue before it was announced.

“We must do what we need to do to protect the industry. Beyond making our opinions known, we will take legitimate and legal steps to stop any plan against the interest of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the objective of the NPPIC is to transform the enormous strides achieved by the telecom industry in the last two decades into long-term indigenous economic development outcomes for Nigerian companies and citizenry.

Danbatta said the Commission has taken various steps to ensure that the process of implementing NPPIC is painstakingly pursued through capacity strengthening, institutional building and strategic policy tools, which will further promote domestic and economic linkages, job creation and the participation of local Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the telecom value chain via the supply of goods and services to the sector.

The Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE), 2022 was oragnised as part of effort to vigorously pursue the objectives of the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (NPPIC), through the National Office for Developing Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) domiciled in the NCC.

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TECHDIGEST – The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Professor Umar Danbatta, has said the commission has so far identified 72 action points to promote indigenous content in the telecoms sector.

Danbatta disclosed this in his keynote address at the third edition of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum with the theme: ‘Establishing Trackable Metrics for Developing Nigeria’s Indigenous Telecoms Sector’ in Lagos.

He added that the commission has also brought at least 30 stakeholders to the round table to chart ways for the effective implementation of the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content Policy in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (NPPIC) assented to By President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021.

The EVC, who was represented at the forum by Babagana Digima, Head of the Nigeria Office for Promoting the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS), said: “At a higher level, the Commission had identified 72 time-based metrics for NPPIC which it classed into immediate, short term, medium term, and long-term items and these include activities such as the creation of NODITS dedicated to guiding the policy; constitution of local content steering committee; engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders; and commissioning baseline studies on the level of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecoms industry”.

Others, according to him, include development of regulations, monitoring and enforcement of Key Performance Indices (KPIs) and methodologies; development of implementation guidelines; continuous efforts in research and development (R&D); monitoring, evaluation, and enforcement.

“To ensure the effective implementation of the NPPIC, we have articulated several targets and high impact interventions, which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based (SMART)”, Danbatta said.

In his remarks, Omobayo Azeez, Convener of PIAFo, stressed the need to domesticate inputs into the telecoms sector to ease pressure on the Nigerian economy. While acknowledging that the telecommunications sector had unarguably become one indispensable economic enabler for the country and its people, he said sadly, the sector remains grossly dependent on foreign inputs which at the end of every operating year resulted in capital flights above $2.16 billion.

“When operators have to depend solely on foreign talents, solutions, equipment and accessories, they will also have to deal with the hassle of accessing forex as one of the major problems. As such, operators suffer, customers suffer and even our dear Naira is also at a receiving end – it continues to lose value.

“We realise that with the policy in place, the work has just begun because effective implementation of a policy is the true measure of its success. We want this policy to come to fruition and create inclusive benefits for individuals, businesses and the economy,” he said.
The National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content Policy in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector, which was introduced in May 2021, seeks to increase local content in the sector with attention to building local capacity and increasing patronage of indigenous content in telecoms.

Source: Nairametric 

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