Notwithstanding the success recorded by the telecoms sector so far, stakeholders are urging the Nigerian Communications Commission to raise its enforcement activities against illegal operators this year, DAYO OKETOLA writes
The Nigerian Communications Commission in 2012, carried out a lot of enforcement activities against defaulters in different areas of the telecoms industry. From those selling pre-registered SIM cards to illegal users of frequency spectrum, the telecoms regulator did not make it easy for those flouting regulatory guidelines in the industry.
Stakeholders, while examining the impact of such moves on the industry, see them as appropriate, legal and necessary for the survival and sustainability of the industry. With an investment of $25bn and still growing, they advise the NCC to renew its enforcement vigour in 2013, as mandated by the Communications Act.
The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, had earlier in 2012, said the commission would raise its game in the area of enforcement, following a decade of telecoms growth. This, he said, became imperative in order to protect telecoms investment and maintain decorum among all players in the industry.
The Executive Secretary, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Ajibola Olude, said, “Enforcement is necessary for the sanitisation and growth of the telecoms industry. It is also a key component of regulation. If you don’t enforce, it, means that you have certified companies to do what they like. There is the need for enforcement.”
Olude noted that enforcement is of great importance to the telecoms industry, if properly carried out. “We have to know those using frequency without NCC authorisation. If a company is using frequency illegally, it means that the company has not made the necessary payments to the NCC. We must enforce the law when people are not keeping to the rules guiding the industry,” he says.
Speaking in the same vein, the Senior Assistant to the Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Adebola Omoboya, expressed strong support for enforcement against illicit acts in the telecoms industry, while lauding the NCC for achieving great strides in the area of enforcement in 2012.
Omoboya, who believes consistent enforcement was required to sanitise the industry, observed, “I used to work in the GSM space and I know that network operators will do anything to maximise profit. As such, I strongly believe in enforcement against illegal activities in the Information and Communications Technology industry.”
He decried the country’s poor telecoms service, saying, “There is a lot more that the NCC can do, especially in the area of quality of service. Since last year, we have had a terrible quality of service. Against this backdrop, not only is enforcement required, regulation as a whole must be a bit grand. For instance NCC must ensure that mobile network operators don’t have to wait till their network capacity is exhausted before optimising. ’’
In the opinion of another expert, who is the Chairman, Nigerian Internet Group, Mr. Bayo Banjo, “Enforcement is the foundation of all human activities.” He also blamed governments for not enforcing laws and regulation at all levels.
He said the persistent poor quality of service in the telecoms industry showed that enforcement measures have been inadequate.
The problem, according to him, is that the NCC has been adopting sanctions that can barely affect the telecoms operators.
Already, subscribers, who tow Banjo’s line of thought, have continued to point accusing fingers at the NCC for failing to put a stop to drop calls, failed calls, network congestion and general poor service quality that have characterised the telecoms sector.
The President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, also condemns the poor quality of service experienced by subscribers on various networks in 2012, lamenting that the situation had remained the same, even in the New Year.
It will, however, be recalled that the NCC penalised the four GSM companies operating in the country to the tune of N1.17bn for poor quality of service in March and April 2012. MTN was requested to pay N360m; Airtel, N270m; Etisalat N360m; and Globacom, N180m.
The NCC, in June, 2012, arrested five people in Makurdi, Benue State for selling and distributing pre-registered SIM Cards. NCC’s Head of Enforcement, Mr. Efosa Idehen, who commented in the action, said, “With a contingent of other law enforcement agencies, NCC stormed Wurukun Market and Modern Market both in Makurdi, where the arrests of the suspects took place. They were in possession of sacks of pre-registered SIM Cards, while selling to unsuspecting users.”
In its nationwide crackdown on illegal registration of SIM cards, the NCC also led security operatives to some dealers’ premises in Abuja and sealed off those that failed to produce the suspects and the machines used for the illegal registrations.
NCC Head, Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka , who commented on the development, said, “The arrest is in continuation of the campaign to rid the streets of pre-registered SIM cards. We’ve been able to arrest quite a number across the country.”
In October 2012, the NCC further arrested a suspect for allegedly selling pre-registred SIM cards in Osogbo, Osun State.
The NCC on November 5, 2012 also sealed off the premises of Sunbifo Nigeria Limited, a communication outfit in Akure, Ondo State, for engaging in illegal registration and sale of SIM cards. The firm was said to have used photographs in an almanac and sold the registered cards to subscribers at higher prices than what was being sold in the market.
Idehen said the commission had been tracing the activities of the company over the time.
“Nine machines being used for illegal registration had been traced to Ondo State and three out of the machines had been traced to the sealed company,” he said..
In July 2012, the NCC shut down two branches of a first generation bank over illegal use of licensable frequency.
Muoka said the branches of the bank were located along New Ring Road in Ibadan and Aladbaka in Akure.
Muoka also said the use of 5.40 GHz frequency band was illegal because it is a licensable spectrum in Nigeria, adding that such use was in contradiction to the prescriptions of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
He said, “The enforcement team of the commission, led by Mr. Efosa Idehen, who stormed both banks discovered that the frequencies were being used illegally at the banks. It and served their officials with warrants of arrests for illegal use of licensable frequencies, thereby denying the Federal Government the revenues accruable from the resources.”
In its bid to rid the country of substandard mobile phones, the NCC, in an exercise of its regulatory powers, also clamped down on manufacturers and vendors of illegal phones in the country sometime in 2012.
The commission, during a massive enforcement campaign at the popular Computer Village and Otigba Market in Lagos, sealed offices of mobile phone manufacturers and peddlers of unapproved phones in the country. A number of phone manufacturers were affected.
Generally, a lot happened in the area of enforcement in 2012 and industry watchers believe it is one area, where the NCC performed well. As such, they urge the regulatory body to surpass its 2012 enforcement performance in 2013 and not to compromise its stand on activities that could destroy the telecoms industry.