*Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission, hints at ongoing collaboration between the Federal Government and the Commission to review the 2000 National Telecoms Policy in line with the Nigerian Communications Act 2003

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are collaborating to review the extant National Telecoms Policy.

绿帽献妻 reports the regulatory Commission also plans quarterly disclosure of information regarding the Quality of Service (QoS) performance of the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country’s telecoms space.

Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, disclosed this development at a recent interactive media engagement, in Abuja, FCT.

Maida: Telecoms reforms to enhance transparency, consumer protection in Nigeria

Maida affirmed that the process of reviewing the telecoms policy has commenced.

The EVC/CEO of NCC also stated: 鈥淪ince the National Telecoms Policy 2000, you will be pleased to know that we have started engagements with the Ministry to revise the telecoms policy

“As per the Act, the NCA 2003, we are to guide and provide input to the National Telecoms Policy. But it鈥檚 driven by the Ministry.”

He further stated: 鈥淭hat process has started; and that was also contained in the Honourable Minister ‘Bosun Tijani鈥檚 Strategic Blueprint, which he released early when he assumed office.

鈥淪o, we need to let Nigerians know all our operators: who is first, second, and third.”

Maida also explained the publication of the Telcos’ Quarterly Performance Reports.

鈥淎nd you know what that would do. The person who came last, will be in trouble with his Board.

“He will have to go and explain to his Board.

“Or it will be an opportunity for him to tell his Board, ‘I need that investment that you have been denying me,’ ” stated he.

The NCC Chief as well harped on the fundamental objective of the regulatory initiative, and said: 鈥淲e want to complement it with an information disclosure approach as well to drive that competitiveness.

“So, that is why you鈥檝e seen us increasingly releasing information, taking the bold step to make corrections to some of our data points, whether it鈥檚 the population rebasing we did, or posting in same linkage policy conclusion on the audit we did to adjust the numbers, which unfortunately led to one of the operators dropping significantly.”

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The Executive Vice-Chairman averred that NCC鈥檚 approach moving forward, would witness a lot of information disclosure.

According to him, by the end of August 2025, or sometime early in September this year, there will be a release of a public map for telecoms network performance.

As regards what possibly promoted the move, Maida said that based on 鈥渋nformation that is aggregated from all of us as consumers.

鈥淪o, all the performance data as you鈥檙e using your devices is uploaded to the network.”

He stated: “So, this is independent data for you. It鈥檚 going to be aggregated, and we鈥檙e going to put it on the map, which is going to be available publicly

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be doing quarterly performance reports, based on that data where we鈥檙e going to give an extensive analysis of how the networks perform on various indices鈥揳ll based on real data.”

The telecoms sector regulator explained further: 鈥淪o state-by-state, there will be an analysis on various performance metrics.”

The release of Corporate Governance guidelines in telecommunications

Justifying the objective of releasing the Corporate Governance guidelines launched recently, in Lagos, the EVC/CEO of NCC said the regulatory instrument was essential to enhanced performance in the telecoms industry.

The Chief Executive of the Commission also explained the process: 鈥淲e looked at the indicators of good corporate governance, and then we looked at financial performance, service performance, service delivery performance, and regulatory compliance. The link was clear.

鈥淪o, corporate governance for us we see as a very strong tool to also use as part of our information disclosure and transparency approach to this industry.”

Measures to enhance MNOs’ Quality of Service

In respect of the much expected improved Quality of Service (QoS) from the service providers, especially after the 50 percent increments early this year, Maida affirmed that 鈥渆verybody is yearning for improved Quality of Service.”

He asserted: “I would just like to reassure you that we are working very very hard in very close collaboration with all stakeholders, the operators, the major ones, the MNOs.鈥�

He equally revealed that the NCC had revised its telecoms Quality of Service guidelines.

The EVC/CEO noted that it is no longer just about holding the Mobile Network Operators accountable, there are also the Tower Companies (TowerCos) that provide power and security.

There is now a framework undergoing review to standardise the operations around top-ups and recharges in the telecommunications industry, Dr. Maida said.

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