Ten things NCC will do in 2018

To handover 9mobile to new owner on Jan 16

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will hand over 9mobile to new owner after the conclusion of the sale process on January 16. The sale process was postponed by both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC, following a letter from the directors of 9mobile asking for an extension. In a letter to Godwin Eme¿ ele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, acknowledged the risk posed by the year-end deadline for submission of binding offers by prospective bidders for the purchase of 9mobile. Prof Danbatta wrote: “The Commission is in receipt of a letter dated 29th November 2017 by which the Board of Directors of Emerging Markets Telecoms Services Ltd. (9Mobile) requested for an extension of the deadline for the submission of binding offers by prospective bidders from 31st December 2017 to 16th of January 2018. “Having carefully considered the reasons given for the proposed extension in the letter under reference, the Commission con¿ rms that it has no objection to the request and that the extension can be communicated to the Company. “We thank you for your kind consideration.” The company formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria was taken over in July 2017 following a N541 billion debt overhang. Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator as a result of the debt owed to a consortium of 13 banks. 9mobile is being prepared for sale by Barclays Africa. Five bidders have made the ¿ nal list of potential buyers: Teleology Holdings Limited, promoted by Adrian Wood, the pioneer CEO of MTN Nigeria; Smile Telecoms Holdings, a telco operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo DR and South Africa; and Helios Investment Partners LLP, an investment company. Others are Bharti Airtel, an Indian telco that owns Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom, the Nigerian company owned by Mike Adenuga Jnr. The telecom regulator, NCC, and the banking watchdog, CBN, are expected to play a key role in the final decision. Prof Danbatta had said in an interview in Abuja recently that the five shortlisted companies had been allowed to conduct due diligence on 9mobile. He said the Nigerian authorities would not just handover 9mobile to any company, but to a very “technically and ¿ nancially capable company.” He assured that there would be seamless takeover of the company, and that whoever buys it would improve the fortune of the company. He said: “As you are aware five bidders have emerged as I am talking to you and they have been allowed to access the data room of the 9mobile in order for them to get access to the financial situation of the company and subsequently make bid for the takeover of the company. “But we will ensure that the takeover is done in a regulated manner, not a forceful manner. That is why the CBN and the NCC are supervising what is going on through the interim board that was jointly set up by the NCC and other partners.” 9mobile which was formerly Etisalat rebranded after its major owners in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, pulled out and a new board was inaugurated to run its affairs. This was after series of failed negotiations with its lenders over a missed payment of the $1.2billion loan taken from them in 2013.

To allow telcos start spectrum trading

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said telecom operators would start to trade in spectrum beginning from this year. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta revealed this after the review of the submissions made by stakeholders on the draft spectrum trading guidelines late last year. The whole idea of spectrum trading among the operators is to make the scarce resource available to serious investors for the delivery of qualitative telecom services, according to NCC. “All we are saying is that telecom operators that have spectrum they want to trade it, let them do so. We will allow them to lease, sell or share their spectrum among themselves or to new comers. “The rules of engagement have been provided and public inquiry was held so that input could be made”, NCC’s boss said in an interview.

To receive N110bn fine from MTN

The Nigeria’s largest GSM network, MTN Nigeria will continue the payment of the fine slammed on it in 2015 for failure to disconnecting unregistered SIM cards. The South African company is expected to pay N55billion on or before March 31, 2018, and another N55bn on or before December 31, 2018. NCC had said by the terms of agreement, the money would be made in six tranches: N30 billion into NCC’s treasury single account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July, 2016 (paid). Other dates and amounts of the agreements were: March 31, 2017 (N30Billion) which has also been paid; March 31, 2018 (N55Billion), December 31, 2018 (N55Billion), March 31, 2019 (N55Billion) and May 31, 2019 (N55Billion).

Broadband target

The NCC boasted of achieving the broadband penetration target of 30 per cent by December 2018. The penetration level is currently stands at 24%.

To improve QOS

The NCC says it will work towards achieving a near perfect network quality this year. The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta said the commission had put measures in place to check and monitor QoS on various networks. “Our task force on QoS and has been interacting with governments at different levels as part of the measures to deal with the poor QoS”, he said.

To go tough on open registration of SIM cards

The NCC will go tough on open registration of SIM cards in the country. Though it had already made it illegal for telecom operators or their representatives to do registration of SIM cards in open or uncontrolled environment, the commission intensify its enforcement of the law this year. NCC said the government through the commission had issued a directive to all telecom operators since November 2016 to stop their agents from registering SIM cards under umbrellas and in kiosks effective from February 1, 2017.

It will not restrict usage of social media

The NCC said it would not restrict access to social media.

To flood Nigeria with ECCs

Though only five of the 37 Emergency Communication Centres (ECC) functioned across the country in 2017, the commission said work was ongoing in making the 32 other centres operational this year. The ECC Project was intended to bridge the communication gap between the distressed and emergency response agencies in the country. To go tough on unsolicited messages The commission had issued “a final warning to telecoms operators in the country over unsolicited messages and calls to subscribers.” The commission reiterated its readiness to protect subscribers from the nuisance and irritations of unsolicited text messages and calls from the mobile network operators.

To donates ICT tools

The NCC will present multimillion naira ICT tools to schools, MDAs and NGOs across the country this year.

To continue discussion interconnection rates

The NCC will continue its series of meeting with telecommunications operators in the country to review the mobile voice termination rates. A termination rate is the rate an operator, whose network is used to make a call, pays to another operator, whose network is used by a consumer to receive a call. It is also known as interconnection rate. The present interconnection rates had been in effect since April 2013 and they are reviewed either downward or upward every four years.