Advocacy as Catalyst for ICT Development

Stakeholders in the information and communications technology sector believe that renewed advocacy will further boost development in 2017, writes Emma Okonji

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) stakeholders have a common strategy with which they channel their resolutions to government for proper implementation. The strategy, known as industry advocacy, has paid off to a great extent in the past years and some stakeholders, who spoke with THISDAY, said they would continue with that strategy this year so as to press home most of the issues that are yet to be addressed by government.

According to them, advocacy is key to growth and development of any sector, especially in a situation where we do not have powers to implement certain resolutions reached, which are in the best interest of the industry.

“We see advocacy as a means of making government understands how the ICT sector works and what should be done to facilitate meaningful development in the sector. We are not law makers, neither are we decision makers, but our role is that of advocacy, by advising government and decision makers on what we think is best for the industry. Apart from being professionals, we are core operators and we understand the industry better, hence we are in a better position to advise government and policy makers on the right way to go,” the ICT stakeholders said collectively.

The President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), one of the advocacy groups, Prof. Sola Aderounmu said: “As stakeholders, our duty is to continue to advise government on essential things that bothers on ICT, and we will not relent in our advocacy especially in 2017, until government listens and addresses our concerns.”

Advocacy on communications tax bill

The ICT industry, especially the telecoms sector, witnessed increased advocacies in 2016, from the telecoms consumer right group, like the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), to the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), as well as from Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body of all Nigerians practicing computer and computational related programmes.

One of such advocacies from NATCOMS, ALTON and ATCON, was in the area of the proposed communication tax bill that has passed the second reading at the National Assembly, which seeks to increase communication tax by another nine per cent.
The President of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo and the President of ATCON, Mr. Olusola Teniola, where among the several Nigerians who protested the planned communication tax bill, and called on the National Assembly members to drop the idea, which they said would be inimical to telecoms growth in the country, as subscribers would be made to pay more for telecoms services rendered by telecoms operators.

While NATCOMS threatened to drag the National Assembly members to court to seek redress, should the proposed communication tax bill be introduced, it also assured Nigerians that it would mobilise civil society organisations, Nigerian students, and coalition of Nigeria Consumer Association, for a five million man-match to the National Assembly in Abuja, to protest the proposed communication tax bill.

For ATCON, its president, engaged the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and members of the Senate, over the proposed communication tax bill, where Teniola made a presentation, highlighting the dangers inherent in the planned bill.
Teniola told Saraki and the Senate that the bill, if eventually passed into law, would exclude 10 per cent of the population of telecoms subscribers, which is over 20 million, from getting access to telecommunication services.

Teniola explained that whereas the survival of the Nigerian economy is about attracting more citizens to gain access to internet and telecommunications services, the bill would cut down on access to ICT services.
Both ATCON and NATCOMS have promised to continue with the advocacy on communications tax bill in 2017, and assured telecoms subscribers that they would not give up the struggle in 2017, until the National Assembly listens to their advocacy.

Advocacy on price floor for data services

Recounting efforts made by NATCOMS to convince the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), through advocacy, not to introduce a new price floor for data services, which seeks to increase data tariff across networks, Ogunbanjo told THISDAY that NATCOMS would continue to press it on government and the NCC to drop any idea that would lead to data increase in the telecoms sector. According to him, introducing a new price floor for data is inimical to telecoms growth, especially at a time that Nigeria is passing through economic recession. Although he commended NCC for suspending the idea to introduce new price floor for data services in 2016, he ,however, said NATCOMS would continue to appeal to NCC in 2017, to ensure that what happened in 2016 in relation to new price floor, does not repeat itself.

NCC had last year, introduced a new price floor for data services in the telecommunications sector, which is a template that sets price regulation for data service offering, but Nigerians, championed by NATCOMS, vehemently objected to it and made strong protest to NCC and the National Assembly, which compelled the NCC to suspend the idea, and asked all operators to revert to the old price floor, and to maintain the status quo until the conclusion of study to determine retail prices for broadband and data services in Nigeria.

The Director, Public Affairs for NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, who announced the suspension, said it became necessary, following the general complaints by consumers across the country, who perceived that the interim price floor would lead to hike in the cost of data services across networks. He said the decision to suspend the directive was taken after due consultation with industry stakeholders.
Although NCC promised to revisit the issue this year and come out with a more acceptable price floor for data, which will be of international standard, Ogunbanjo said NATCOMS would continue to advocate for a price floor that would rather reduce the current data tariff across networks.

Advocacy on policy implementation

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has also come up to say that it will engage the federal government in the area of policy formulation and implementation that will accelerate growth in the ICT industry. Aderounmu, who blamed the non-patronage of locally manufactured computer by Nigerians and government agencies on poor policy implementation, said the situation has to change in 2017 through advocacy. According to him, Nigerians must learn to patronise local computers, like Zinox, Omatek, Beta, Brian among others, including locally developed software, and we need policy implementation to achieve this.

President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Mr. Olorogun James Emadoye, is another stakeholder who believes government must wake up to its responsibilities in 2017 in the area of policy implementation that will drive local content development in the ICT sector.

Emadoye, who blamed the federal government for policy inconsistencies and poor implementation, gave an instance where the federal government, through the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Ufot Ekaette, wrote a letter with Ref No SGF/OP/1/S.3/VII/795, to head of civil service commission, ministries department and agencies (MDAs) of government, on the need to patronise made in Nigeria products, including procurement of locally assembled computers and locally developed software. He said the letter directed all federal MDAs to comply with the directive, but expressed his dissatisfaction that such directive was never implemented. The situation, he said, has grounded several local manufacturers of ICT products and equipment in the country, while importation of ICT equipment still thrives in the country.

Emadoye therefore called on government to expedite action in putting in place, policies and the right implementation that would support local content development in a sector where there are willing and talented people that could develop ICT equipment with global standard and best practice.

Spectrum sale

Speaking on the way forward on spectrum sales in 2017, industry stakeholders are of the opinion that most spectrum should be made free of charge, to enable smaller operators invest in spectrum licence.
Speaking on the sale of two slots of 25MHz in the 5.4GHz spectrum for the delivery of wireless broadband in Lagos State by the NCC last year, industry stakeholders are of the view that NCC should have allowed the 5.4GHz spectrum as free spectrum to be used free of charge by smaller operators who have the capacity to provide clusters of telecoms services in remote areas, but could not afford to participate in spectrum auction because of the heavy cost implication.

Faulting NCC for auctioning the 5.4GHz spectrum, the stakeholders said they would channel more energy to the advocacy on spectrum sale and the need to make some spectrum free of charge in 2017, just the way it is done in other countries.
Giving clarifications why the 5.4GHz spectrum was auctioned for N55 million, the Director, Spectrum Administration at NCC, Austin Nwaulune, said: “The 5.4GHz spectrum was not sold because NCC needed to make money for government. It was sold because NCC wanted to encourage smaller operators who needed the spectrum to rollout services, hence it was sold at N55 million, which is far lower that previous licences auctioned by NCC.”

Service quality

Commending telecoms operators for the quality of services offered in 2016, industry stakeholders, however, said the operators needed to improve in the area of data and voice, especially in festivity periods, where volumes of calls and data communications are generated. Giving instances of the challenges faced by subscribers during the last Yuletide, where it became difficult for subscribers in some locations to make hitch-free calls, Ogunbanjo said NATCOMS would continue to advocate for better service delivery, until the situation is addressed.

He said: “Although service quality has improved tremendously, but there is still need for operators to do better in terms of data, since there is a paradigm shift from voice to data communication.”

Ogunbanjo, who said there was slight improvement on service quality last year, also commended telecoms operators for maintaining cheap prices for voice and data services in 2016. According to him, aside fair pricing in telecoms services, the operators were able to introduce value added services and promotional activities that further dropped the prices of data services across networks in 2016.
Now that the ICT industry has resorted to advocacy to address key industry issues, it will be of national interest if government listens and act fast.