August 23, 2023

…Eased burden on our demand for FX

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria’s telecommunications industry has recorded a lot of achievements since the first edition of the Nigerian Telecommunication Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE).

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Umar Danbatta in his opening address at the second edition of the NTICE organised by the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS) a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Commission to drive the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content said, it is the only telecom event in Nigeria that is solely focused on Indigenous Content promotion, development and adaptation.

Themed: “Harnessing Indigenous Content for Economic Growth; Networking to boost Investment”, the EVC who was represented by Engineer Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services at the Commission noted that the policy that places ban on importation of whole- body SIM cards which was announced at the maiden NTICE event last year, has led to economic gains.

According to him, This ban has not only eased the burden on our demand for foreign exchange but has also created business in excess of N55bn for the local SIM card manufacturers in Nigeria which in turn has created direct and indirect jobs.

“Nigeria with its rich history of innovation, resilience, and creativity as well as our diverse culture, talents, and perspectives has birthed solutions that uniquely cater for our challenges and aspirations”, he said.

“It is not out of place to mention that the sector’s performance was instrumental to lifting Nigeria out of recession with 12.45% contribution to the GDP in Q4 2020. This figure increased to 14.13% as at Q1 2023.

“The Sector is also home to two (2) of the most valuable listed companies in Nigeria with a collective market capitalization in excess of N10.45 trillion,” Danbatta said.

Recall also that the Commission in 2021 and 2022, generated revenue in excess of USD$820m from the auction and grant of 3.5GHz Spectrum band licences to three operators to boost the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) services in Nigeria. This placed Nigeria on the global 5G map ahead of many countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

“It is also important to note that while Quality of Service and Quality of Experience in telecommunications services in Nigeria have continued to improve, tariffs have remained stable notwithstanding the increase in cost-of-service provision to the telecom operators.

In order to sustain and further improve Quality of Service and Quality of Experience in telecommunications services in Nigeria, we must embrace indigenous content and value creation within the telecoms value chain, otherwise, increase in telecoms tariff will be inevitable.

“The Commission is fully committed to the drive of the Federal Government to place the Nigerian Economy on a sustainable pedestal through all the necessary policies put in place.

“Today, I am happy to inform you that NTICE is one of the achievements of
NCC through NODITS because it has served not only to promote Pillar
number 5 (Strategic Partnering) of the Strategic Management Plan SMP 2020-
2024 of the Commission but has also become the flagship indigenous content
event for the industry”.

“The Commission has also incentivized the manufacturing of Corrugated Optical Duct (COD) that will be used to protect our fibre infrastructure from the incessant cuts experienced by our service providers.

“The Commission is equally committed to continuously supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Innovators to promote our talented young persons and ventures though Angel Investments, R&D support, exposure to Investors and sponsorship to local and international tech events.

Report by: Theresa Igata