NCC sets new operational fees, spectrum prices for telcos

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has set up an annual operating regulatory levy to ensure that all licensees are properly and equitably assessed to meet statutory and regulatory expectations.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a public inquiry, Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman of NCC, said the ongoing amendments of two major regulatory instruments of the commission would ensure a fair and competitive telecoms market.

The two regulatory instruments are the Annual Operating Levy Regulations (AOL) and the Frequency Spectrum (Fees and Pricing, etc.) Regulations.

Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC director of public affairs, told TheCable that the new framework has nothing to do with data and call costs.

Explaining further, Danbatta said the regulatory instruments were tailored to resolve the challenges and to further strengthen the market structure of the industry.

“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),” he said.

“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 are assigned and managed in a way that ensures fair pricing and efficient deployment of attendant services.

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

The NCC boss said the commission had begun the process of deploying Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria, which largely depended on the appropriate frequency spectrum.

With the explosion in technologies, Danbatta said there was also an attendant secondary reliance on different approaches to maximise frequency spectrum.

He said this has 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.

Speaking at the event, Josephine Amuwa, director of legal and regulatory services at NCC, said the review of Annual Operating Levy Regulations will look at the current licencing structure and ensure that all the spectra of licensees are properly covered.

“On the other hand, the review of the second regulation, the Frequency Spectrum (Fees and Pricing) Regulations is expected to provide more guidelines on the parameter for determination of proper fees and pricing of spectrum,” she added.

“This will also make adequate provisions for different spectrum licencing processes and their assessment parameters.”