Nigeria hits confab with appetizing investment avenues

Nigeria’s pavilion at the ongoing the
International Telecoms Union (ITU) World 2018 conference in Durban has
opened raising the appetite of investors in areas in need of massive
investments, including introduction of emerging
technologies.

 

The leader of Nigerian delegation to the
conference and Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta,
 launched the Pavilion.

 

He unveiled issues surrounding recently launched Nigeria’s ICT Roadmap and driving broadband penetration.

 

“We also come to share our experiences
and take home new ideas in global best practices that will assist us to
strengthen our regulatory processes and interventions that will make the
accelerated growth of telecommunications to
dovetail into a better and stronger economy”.

 

Though he laid great emphasis on the
feats so far recorded by Nigeria in the telecoms industry, Danbatta was
mute on critical issues currently hobbling the industry including the
delay in completing the Commission’s integrity
test on Teleology Holdings Limited, the bid winners in the sale of
9mobile.

 

 The nation’s telecoms
industry watchers had been apparently put in incommunicado by the NCC
for too long in coming out to tell Nigerians the real new owners of the
troubled telecom.

 

 Aside the silence on
9mobile ownership issue, the EVC was also mute on another industry
issue; the massive call for review of Data price Floor (DPF) which
remains a big issue in Nigeria’s
data market segment.

 

 For several months, the
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) including Main Network Operators
(MNOs) and leading industry stakeholders’ bodies had been calling for
the review so as to spur the
needed investments in the sector by players and possibly, new entrants.

 

 But the Commission had remained adamant without any reason for its delay or silence on the matter.

 

 Business Hilights recalls
that due to the crisis bordering on unregulated DPF, several ISPs have
collapsed as many of the struggling ISPs cannot muster the courage to go
for licence renewal
apparently caused by lack of level playing ground and ongoing
suppression of smaller service providers by leading MNOs.

 

 Only recently, the
management of Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators’ of Nigeria
(ALTON), led by Engr Gbenga Adebayo had raised alarm on the rising
collapse of service providers in
the data segment due to the stalemate in arriving at a new DPF capable
of encouraging more investment in the sub-sector.

 

 However, even at home, the
NCC had remained adamant on their pleas and also extended the muteness
on the matter at the ongoing ITU.

 

 On encouraging
international investors in the area of coming to deepen investments in
the nation’s broadband penetration campaign, Prof Danbatta only gave
shallow details on the importance
of growing the sector but maintained blackout on why licenced
Infrastructure Companies (Infracos) are still finding it hard to rollout
services and associated fibre optic cables across their respective
zones.

 

 However, Danbatta averred
that “We at NCC are conscious of the role assigned to us in the Roadmap
and National Broadband Plan to drive Broadband penetration beyond the
minimum target of 20%
to reach the maximum target of 30% target, hopefully before the end of
2018. At 22%, we have already exceeded the minimum target”.

 

“The NCC has put in place incentives for
Infrastructure Companies (Infracos) in order to encourage speedy
deployment of infrastructure that will deepen broadband penetration as
quickly as possible.

 

“This is part of the roadmap to take
Nigeria to the next level under the Open Access Model template. So far,
six Infraco licences have been issued to cover Lagos, North East, North
West, South South, South West and South East
zones of the Country. Arrangements are underway to re-licence the North
Central zone.

 

 NCC was however, short of
words on giving Company-by Company details on their respective progress
made so far so as to raise appetite of international investors.

 

 Though Prof Danbatta
revealed incentives for new investors on Infraco licences including
securing of a special facility for Infracos, he was silent on the
singular key challenge of licencees
which has been Right of Way (RoW) access across the states of the
federation and the inability of either the Commission or federal
government to convince state governments’ to provide soft landing for
Infracos.

 

Source: Business Highlight