5G Tech: Updated AOL, Spectrum Pricing Regulations to boost telecoms market, enhance competition ─NCC

*Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, discloses the ongoing review of two regulatory instruments signals the commencement of the process for deployment of 5G networks in the country

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In a move to strengthen the telecoms market and enhance healthy competition in the sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the ongoing amendments to two major regulatory instruments of the Commission will help in attaining these objectives in the country.

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of NCC, disclosed this at a public inquiry the Commission organised Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Abuja, FCT, listed the two regulatory instruments as the Annual Operating Levy Regulations (AOL) and the Frequency Spectrum (Fees and Pricing, etc.) Regulations.

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs of NCC, in a statement Thursday, July 29, 2021, said the NCC Executive Vice-Chairman noted that 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.

According him, review of AOL 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).

Danbatta stated that 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 ensure that frequency spectrums are assigned and managed in a way that ensures fair pricing and efficient deployment of attendant services, he said.

In his address at the event, the statement noted 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 signposts the Commission’s consultative approach to all its regulatory initiatives.

He intoned that 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.

He said: “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.

In view of the explosion in technologies in recent times, Danbatta said there has also been an attendant secondary reliance on different approaches to drive the best out of different frequency spectrums.

This, he stated, 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 in Nigeria.

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.

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 these global efforts.

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

According to the EVC, 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.

The statement added that presentations were equally 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 in the event also 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 country’s economy.

Some of the participants in the public enquiry are Prof. Adeolu Akande, NCC’s Chairman, Board of Commissioners; 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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