NCC begins news operating regulatory levy to meet expectations

Dayo Olujuwon

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC is set to begin an annual operating regulatory levy to make sure all licensees are properly and equitably assessed to meet statutory and regulatory expectations.

This was revealed by Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC in Abuja on Thursday during the Public Inquiry on two regulatory instruments draft.

He explained that the two key regulatory instruments were set up to meet the challenges and to further strengthen the market structure of the industry.

According to him, the regulatory instruments are: Annual Operating Regulations and the Frequency Spectrum Regulations, which fees and pricing fall under.

“The first instrument will 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)

“The second instrument is a vehicle that enables the commission to meet its role and exclusive mandate in Section 121 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 by assigning this scarce national resource in an equitable manner.

“The regulations also ensure that frequency spectrum is assigned and managed in a way that ensures fair pricing and efficient deployment of attendant services.

“The public inquiry is the precursor to the commission’s current drive to ensure efficiency in spectrum management and unveiling of next-generation services through varied enablers.

Danbatta, also stated that the Commission had begun the process of deploying Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria, which in a huge density depended on the appropriate frequency spectrum.

Taking a look at the recent explosion and breakthrough in technology, Danbatta said there was also an attendant secondary reliance on different approaches to maximize frequency spectrum.

He said this led to the need for designation of several bands of frequency spectrum for communications services and a key illustration was the recent identification of some Spectrum frequencies for 5G deployment.

The EVC noted that, the Commission was conscious of the expectations and the need to ensure that the required regulatory frameworks were in place to meet those challenges.

He stated that this had made the reviews, which the Commission was conducting, an important milestone as the public inquiry was pushing the country to the front queue of the global efforts.

“We must be prepared on both ends of the industry to push the country forward 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 said.