Global System of Mobile
Communications Association (GSMA), the umbrella body for all Mobile operators, Equipment
manufacturers, Vendors among others recently opened talks with the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) on capacity building, and other sundry ways to
attain an accelerated growth in the mobile sector.
The talks which took place at the
Corporate Headquarters of NCC in Abuja were led by Mr. Mortimer Hope, Director,
Africa Region for GSMA. They were received by the Executive Vice Chairman
(EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.
Mortimer who said their visit was of
dual purposes, told the EVC and his management that besides introducing his
team to the NCC, they came to discuss with the regulator on capacity building
which GSMA members have great expertise.
“We are available always for capacity
building that will boost mobile connectivity, improve data transmission, mobile
money by breaking all the barriers inhibiting growth”. Mortimer said Nigeria is
a very important market hence the need for the report, Digital Inclusion and the role of Mobile in Nigeria, which he presented
to the EVC.
The report was inspired by GSMA’s
Digital Inclusion programme which supports the connection of an additional two
billion people to the mobile internet by 2020.
The programe focuses on working with
mobile operators, development organisations and governments to address the
barriers to mobile internet adoption through network infrastructure and policy,
affordability and tax, digital literacy and local content.
The GSMA team however said that
knotty issues like multiple taxation, Quality of Service, Right of Way, among
others are still a drawback to the expected growth of the sector.
They also bemoaned lack of spectrum
for the mobile companies to effectively reach those underserved and unserved
areas of Nigeria.
In his response, Danbatta told the
visiting GSMA team that the regulator is already abreast with mobile inclusion
and all of these are captured in the five year strategic plan of the Commission
2015-2020 enshrined in the 8-point
agenda “which we unveiled recently and this is in line with the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) strategy to increase mobile
penetration through broadband”.
The EVC also told the visitors that
Nigeria is aware of the massive ICT divide and “we are striving to bridge this
through the National Broadband Plan (2015 – 2018) where penetration is likely
to hit 30 percent from its current level of 10 percent”.
This strategy includes but not
limited to improvement of Quality of Service (QoS), through massive deployment
of broadband infrastructure especially in major cities to boost connectivity.
Danbatta said to achieve milestones,
“we must begin now, hence we appreciate this relationship with GSMA”.
On the issue of Right of way, Multiple
taxation, Danbatta told the visitors that “we have opened talks with the
Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and we are very positive of the results”.
On Spectrum, he said, “it is a scarce
commodity but we are working out ways on how available Spectrum is properly
utilized”.
“Poor quality of service has to do with technical and non-technical issues like vandalism of infrastructure and these are being addressed” Danbatta added.
Tony Ojobo/GEE @TonyOjobo
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