Stable policy, regulatory space to attract investors - Ndukwe

Ndukwe with  some national assembly members at the event

The immediate-past Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Dr. Ernest Ndukwe has urged the federal government to maintain stability in the policy and regulatory space of the telecommunications sector.

He said that the stability in policy, regulatory space would engender good business environment and would further encourage investment in the country and telecommunications sector precisely.

Ndukwe in a keynote address on ‘A Decade of Telecom Revolution’ at the 8^th anniversary of the Telecoms Consumer Parliament in commemoration of the decade of Telecom Revolution in Nigeria, organized by NCC in Lagos, Wednesday, said that its critical for government to continue to maintain stability in the policy and regulatory space.

According to Ndukwe, who is currently the chairman of OpenMedia Communications Limited, the high level of investments recorded so far in the telecommunications sector was largely because of the stability in policy and regulatory regime that the industry enjoyed since 2000.

“This must therefore be maintained,” he declared, noting that it’s equally important to maintain the political and financial independence of the regulatory institution.

Regulators, he said, need to be able to regulate the market fairly and earn the confidence of investors, consumers and other stakeholders.

Nigeria, he said, must strive to maintain an operating environment that is conducive to attracting investment by avoiding actions that could constitute a disincentive for investment.

He pointed out that telecoms sector is very capital intensive and therefore, to continue to encourage timely network expansion, improve quality of service and ensure national coverage in the country, emphasis must be on ensuring an attractive operating environment.

Further, Ndukwe said that efficient management of national spectrum resources, including timely sale of available frequencies to support new technologies.

“Spectrum is the oxygen that sustains the wireless ecosystem,” Ndukwe said.

He emphasized the fact that Nigeria needs to grow her teledensity figure from the current level of about 66 per cent to over 100 per cent to achieve the Vision 2020-20 targets for national development.

He cited an instance with the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), saying that the Fund has critical roles to play in extending services to the rural communities.

“We must reach all parts of the country with both voice and data carrying infrastructure,” he said.

In his opening remarks earlier, the EVC, Dr. Eugene Juwah commended the Federal Government’s bold step of 2001, which paved the way for the telecommunication revolution to berth through liberalization of the industry.

“This bold step of the Federal Government climaxed in August 2001 when the first set of GSM operators rolled out services after a very successful auction of Digital Mobile Licenses (DML) …,” he said.

He outlined some of the fall out of the transparency auction of DML to include the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) of about $18 billion; increase in the revenue to the Federation Account; Mass direct employment of Nigerians by service providers; engagement of millions of Nigerians in the downstream sector of the industry.

“… Including the umbrella phone booths which the ITU has hailed as a unique Nigerian feature,” he said.

Additionally, Juwah noted that the transparency and progress recorded in the past 10 years have earned some international respect for the country, even as it has boosted business transaction between Nigeria and other countries of the world.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Confusion trails SIM registration deadline

Despite the extension window extended by the telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for subscribers to still register their Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards during the harmonization period yet undetermined, indications have emerged that confusion is now trailing and threatening the entire process.

 

This follows the fact that some operators, supposedly acclaimed big players but not leaders in the market are calling subscribers up to say ‘Sorry sir, your SIM has not been registered.’

This is even when such subscribers have personally registered their SIMs at the mobile operators’ office ever before the commencement of NCC’s six month exercise that ended on September 28, this year.

Lamenting his ordeal, a subscriber of one of the operators who seek anonymity, said he was surprised to be called upon by a customer care that his line which he registered at the operator’s office along airport road, was not registered.

He said, it took the customer care agent some times to convince him by asking him to send REG to a given code, which would tell him if his mobile line was registered on their data base or not.

According to him, when the exercise started, he took his household who have come of age of using mobile phones and own some to visit each of the operators in unionism to ensure that everyone got registered.

In fact, for him, it is surprising and really shocking to note that only him has been singled out as who did not register his own SIM cards.

He pointed out that on further probe, the customer care agent was frank to tell him that there could be some probability that after he registered the SIM and left that something went amaze and they don’t have the guts to call such a customer back.

Our source said he was now directed to register his SIM cards as soon as possible, although he is still under shock, he promised to adhere to the instruction.

Investigations by ITRealms Online revealed that most operators though not comfortable with the development and were not comfortable to talk about it.

However, NCC a fortnight ago commenced the collation and harmonization of all existing registered SIM cards nationwide with a window for accommodating more subscribers to still register.

The National Assembly also requested NCC to extend the duration of the SIM card registration.

This follows the end of a six-month countrywide SIM registration exercise, which began on March 28, 2011 and came to a close on September 28, this year.

Head, Media & Public Relations, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, who confirmed these development said that the registration exercise was undertaken through NCC appointed SIM Registration consultants in each of the six geopolitical zones, including Lagos; and the telecom service providers.

According to him, given the vast geographical spread of the country, and the logistics involved in the registration exercise over the past six months, there is need for proper harmonization of the data in line with the specifications issued by the Commission.

He also said that the harmonization process would involve the collation, reconciliation, cleaning, and consolidation of the captured data into a central data infrastructure for efficient management of Nigeria’s subscriber data base.

Commending the nation’s telecom subscribers for participating actively in the SIM registration exercise, he noted that a new window of opportunity is now open for those who have not yet registered their SIM cards to do so within the limited period of the harmonization exercise.

This limited period, provides the last chance for all users of existing SIM Cards to register as all unregistered SIM Cards will be promptly disconnected without further notice at the conclusion of the harmonization exercise.

The Commission is fully aware of the clamour by many interested stakeholders, and stakeholder organizations, for extension of the period for the registration of existing SIM Cards.

The Commission, he said, believes that the six months period provided for the registration exercise, was ample time for all phone users in the country to register their SIM Cards with either their service providers, or the NCC appointed registration consultants.

“It is in deference to the clamour by the stakeholders, that the Commission has provided this opportunity for all those who have not registered on account of logistic challenges, to do so without any further delay while the harmonization is ongoing,” he said.

As said by him within the limited period of the harmonization exercise, service providers would be directed not to disconnect any subscriber on account of the registration until the Commission announces the completion of the process after which those who remain unregistered would be disconnected.

“We commend all subscribers, who, in spite of some challenges along the way, responded positively to this national call to duty, by registering their SIM Cards. We also commend the service providers, and the NCC appointed registration consultants for their commitment towards the success of the SIM registration exercise,” he said.

Another telecom consumer, who gave his name as Joseph, said he has received calls from his mobile operator, requesting him to go and register his SIM as its currently not registered with the network, in spite of the fact that he explained to the customer care agent that he had registered the SIM with NCC’s accredited agents.

Joseph told ITRealms Online, he is confused on what to do, as NCC has warned of double registration, just as he requested the agency to call the mobile operators to order to avoid escalated panic.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Multi-stakeholders’ agenda tops IGF’11 agenda

The global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) ended in the city of Nairobi, Kenya with multi-stakeholders’ approach top on the agenda, writes REMMY NWEKE.

Preamble:

The four-day Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for the worldwide audience of Internet community, in Nairobi, Kenya between September 27 and 30, 2011, with the theme: Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and innovation.

ICANN reiterates position on multi-stakeholderism:

Welcoming participants at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) venue of the IGF, the president and chief executive officer of the global internet coordinating agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Mr. Rod Beckstrom, noted that in the past two years, ICANN has undergone tremendous positive change with its oversight moved from one government to the world through the Affirmation of Commitments, stressing that the agreement included significant reforms, overseen by ICANN’s global multi-stakeholder community, that are now well underway.

He also said that the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) assumed a much more prominent role in ICANN. Even as an extensive and constructive consultation between the GAC and ICANN’s international Board have been advanced and improved the new generic top-level domain programme, thus opening up the right of the dot.

 Internationalized domain names, Beckstrom pointed out, are now in the root in China, India and other countries around the world, and the security of the domain name system was enhanced with Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), which is a suite of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) specifications for securing the increasing vulnerabilities on the internet. By introducing a technology called DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), ICANN tend to secure the Internet’s infrastructure.

Taking Internet Security seriously:

He explained that DNSSEC, is a technology that was developed to, among other things, protect against such attacks by digitally ‘signing’ data so internet users could be assured it is valid. And in order to eliminate the vulnerability from the Internet, it must be deployed at each step in the lookup from root zone to final domain name, explaining that signing the root deploying DNSSEC on the root zone; is a necessary step in this overall process.

ICANN, he said, is an example of the multi-stakeholder model at its best via open, inclusive, balanced, effective and international, with board members and staff from all five continents and an actively engaged volunteer community around the world. Over 200 countries are involved in ICANN through the GAC, community, Board, staff and operations.

Beckstrom said that another element is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract, which ICANN performs in conjunction with the US Department of Commerce (DoC), pointing out that many parties around the world have submitted comments on the IANA contract renewal, giving voice to their ideas on how to make it even more international, in keeping with the fundamental character of the Internet itself.

Pass-mark for stakeholders on IANA:

The IANA contract, he elucidated, is the next critical step in the evolution of the multi-stakeholder model, and the best vehicle for its expansion, adding that several parties globally now seek clear progress on the structure of the contract, which credibility of the multi-stakeholder model will be judged by how well this evolution occurs.

As said by him, efforts to improve ICANN and reform the IANA contracts were collaborative and global community process.

“We need to make continued progress to avoid putting the multi-stakeholder model at risk. Otherwise a small number of stakeholders who do not represent the global public interest could step into the breach. This could stifle the voices of those whose contributions have led to the unified and open Internet that the world enjoys today,’ he said.

Is this my report card?

Obviously giving his performance report in the past two years at ICANN, , Beckstrom said, have seen tremendous success in executing on every major initiative that faced the organisation, including some – like new generic top-level domains that had been stalled for years, declaring, “We should all be proud of our collective achievement.”

The multi-stakeholder community, he said, has also significantly improved ICANN, just as his team is now implementing reforms, including transparency and accountability emerging from the global community.

“And we have made significant advances in operations across the board, upgraded the professional staff and management team, and clarified our strategic priorities,” he said, underscoring the fact that the theme of IGF’11 is “The Internet: a catalyst for change,” Beckstrom noted that the multi-stakeholder model is the catalyst for the Internet itself, maintaining that by protecting that catalyst, “we protect the Internet.”

Speak up now or ….

ICANN president further urged participants that if they believe the multi-stakeholder model matters, and a highly functioning domain name system matters, as well as believe that ICANN matters, to speak up.

“If you think the future of the Internet should rest in the hands of those who benefit from it, please say something here, or share your views in writing. Stand up for the multi-stakeholder model in all its manifestations, including the vital institutions of ICANN and the IGF,” he said, reminding participants not to forget to take part in the forthcoming ICANN’s next multi-stakeholder international public meeting in Dakar, Senegal, October 23, this year.

Unblock West African IPs:

Though Nigerian government and private sector as well as civil society organisations were adequately represented, at the IGF’11, a very important issue, however, was raised by a Nigerian delegate during the inter-regional dialogue by making a strong case for those countries yet to unblock Internet Protocols (IP) emanating from West Africa to do so without further ado, because more cyber crimes have been committed in other parts of the world than is currently the rate in West Africa, with particular reference to Nigeria.

Noteworthy, however, was that locally, DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had in the past three years collaborated with stakeholders to host the annual Nigeria Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) forum, which the delegates commended, while Minister, Communication Technology, Mrs.  Omobola Johnson, was represented at the occasion by the President, Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Prof. Raymond Akwule.

This was in addition to the West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF) consortium led by Nnenna Nwakanma, equally hosted in by Nigeria in Lagos.

Hitherto:

ITRealms Online recalls that Paragraph 72 of the Tunis hosted World Summit on the Information (WSIS) Agenda in 2005, reads: “We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process, to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue— called the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

The IGF mandate includes discussing public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet; Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body; and    Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organizations and other institutions on matters under their purview.

The Mandates:

Additionally, IGF was mandated to raise issues that could facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and technical communities; Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world; and Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from developing countries.

Equally, participants at every IGF, which is on the sixth year, were charged to identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations; Contribute to capacity building for Internet governance in developing countries, drawing fully on local sources of knowledge and expertise; Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in Internet governance processes; and discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources; as well as help in finding solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users.

Just as the mandate further stipulated that the forum publishes its proceedings, recollecting that IGF mandate has been extended for another five (5) year period. The extension of the mandate for the UN-IGF, is an indication to Kenya that the proposal to host the meeting has been accepted by the UN-IGF secretariat.

IG4D:

However, the Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) also has so sub-themes comprising “Emerging Issues, Managing critical Internet resources, Security, openness and privacy, Access and diversity, Taking stock and the way forward.”

Nevertheless, very important aspect was that Africa promised to host this event and it came to pass, stakeholders are waiting for the outcome of the forthcoming Dakar public meeting of ICANN to really know if Africa has made the relevant impact on the policy formation of the global internet coordinating body, the ICANN.

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

NCC celebrates telecom revolution @ 10

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would today commemorate the 10 years of telecoms revolution and the 8^th anniversary celebration of the Telecoms Consumer Parliament.

The event which holds at Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, according to the Head, Media and Public Relations, Mr. Reuben Muoka.

He also said that the theme for this milestone event is ‘A Decade of Telecom Revolution in Nigeria: The Prospects and Challenges’, and the Honourable Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson will be the Special Guest of Honour.

He also said in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online that the chief host would be the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC/CEO), NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, would give an overview of the nation’s milestone achievements in the sector while the chairman of Openmedia Communications Limited and former EVC of the Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe would deliver the keynote address.

President, Association of Telecom Companies in Nigeria (ATCON), Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, and his counterpart at chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators in Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, 

Corporate Services Executive, MTN Communications, Mr. Wale Goodluck and Mr. Joseph Tegbe of KPMG, would lead discussants of the keynote paper.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

NCC selects consortium for Number Portability

The Nigerian Communications Commission has named some three companies, Interconnect, Saab Grintek, Telecordia as the consortium for the implementation of its proposed Number Portability (NP).

Head, Media & Public Relations, Mr. Reuben Muoka, confirmed this on Sunday, said that the appointment of a consortium of three companies would implement the proposed Number Portability services in the country.

He said, Number Portability would allow phone users to move from one network to another without losing their numbers.

The trio of Interconnect, Saab Grintek, Telecordia, he said, were the Commission’s preferred vendor for the service after the technical, financial and demo presentations by the bidding vendors were evaluated.

According to Muoka, the consortium would be responsible for the set up and implementation of Number Portability Clearing House in the country, and provide mobile number portability solution administration in nation within six months of receiving the license with a testing period of two months.

He explained that members of the consortium are to execute a tripartite agreement that would indicate their specific responsibilities in the process with the regulator approving such agreement to tally with the conditions of the provision of the service in the country.

He also said, NCC had mandated the consortium to ensure that local content participation and adequate skills transfer are entrenched in the process during the implementation of the five-year license.

Just as the consortium would be expected to configure the technical solution for number portability in Nigeria line with the consultation documents as earlier published by the Commission, and the solution is to be customized to meet the specific process needs, as well as other requirements of the Nigerian network operators.

He recalled that NCC had earlier indicated that the Number Portability programme would be the next logical step following the SIM Card registration exercise as it is necessary to know the identity of subscribers who are porting their numbers at different times from one network to another.

“Number portability will allow subscribers to move to alternate networks when they are no longer enjoying the quality of services being obtained from their current operators, or when they are no longer happy with the tariffs offered by their current subscribers as they will still retain their original numbers irrespective of the new network from which they may be obtaining their services,” he said.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Johnson to discuss role of public sector @ Telecom World’11

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has been confirmed as one of the key speakers to lead discussions on the vital role of public sector in networks roll-out.

ITRealms Online, reliably gathered that Mrs. Johnson would be on this panel with the Serbia’s State Secretary for Digital Agenda, Jasna Mati and Phil Laven, Chairman, Digital Video Broadcasting, with the European Broadcasting Union.

Also, the panel would focus on the vital role played by the public sector in driving the roll-out of networks and services.

This is coming as over 250 global leaders are warming up for this year’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-organised Telecom World in Geneva, Switzerland.

Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU, Sarah Parkes, made this disclosure, saying that the event would be a star-studded occasion.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online, Parkes noted that with an action-packed agenda focusing on the major global issues reshaping the information and communication technology (ICT) landscape, ITU Telecom World 2011, holding between October 24 and 27, will bring together Heads of State and government, ICT ministers and regulators, global business leaders and some of the industry’s brightest young innovators for a dynamic series of debates led by some of the industry’s biggest names.

She also said that delegates and media would have the chance to hear from CEOs and leaders of global technology and telecoms companies from around the world including Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, China Mobile, Du, Ericsson, Etisalat, Fujitsu, Huawei, Intel, KDDI, Microsoft, NTT Corporation, NTT DoCoMo, Q-Tel, Swisscom, Telkom SA, Türk Telekom, Verizon and ZTE.

Parkes noted that the event would kick off with a Broadband Leadership Summit featuring Heads of State, Heads of Government and ICT ministers, who would join luminaries including Mexico’s Carlos Slim; Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission; Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD; Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO; and many members of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

Internet pioneer Robert E. Kahn will join Web 2.0 innovators such as Juliana Rotich, CEO of Ushahidi, an open source project which allows users to crowd source crisis information via mobile devices, in sessions such as the power of social media and the Internet of the future.

The Director-General of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, would lead another stimulating debate on the evolution of frameworks for intellectual property and convergence of online content.

In the development sphere, she said, a strong mix of speakers like Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund; Doyle Gallegos, Global Practice Leader, Connectivity Infrastructure at the World Bank; and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General for the Millennium Development Goals, reinforces the fact that ICT access has become central to development across a whole range of spheres.

Secretary General, ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Touré, was quoted as saying that the agenda for ITU Telecom World 2011 is compelling and brings together some of the most important, insightful and powerful figures in the global ICT ecosystem.

“Over four days in Geneva, we’ll be providing unrivalled opportunities to network, collaborate, build consensus and create real vehicles for change that open up markets, empower innovation and transform lives,” he said.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D