Telcos Seek Regulator’s Intervention to Address Industry Issues

Emma Okonji

Telecommunications operators (Telcos), which include Value Added Service (VAS) providers, have stressed the need for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, to address all peculiar challenges rocking the boat of the telecoms industry, in order to protect the industry and its players.

The operators who spoke at the ‘Talk To The Regulator Forum,’ organised by NCC in Lagos recently, said the telecoms environment was becoming tough to do business, and that such challenges emanate from the communities, the bigger operators, and most times from the regulator itself.

Value Added Service (VAS) providers who were present at the forum, frowned at the revenue sharing formula between VAS providers and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and argued that the situation has forced many VAS providers to shut down business, because the MNOs are taking the larger revenue share, when in the real sense of it, the VAS providers are the ones providing the contents.

Responding to industry complaints, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management at the NCC, Adeleke Adewolu, said the issue between VAS providers and MNOs had lingered for too long and promised that NCC would seek further meeting to address the issue.

“We will meet again with VAS aggregators to discuss their specific needs in order to address them. Change is constant and we can see that in the disruptive nature of VAS operators that has further deepened digital transformation in Nigeria.

“National policy on local content is something that the regulator must implement, and NCC has set up an office for development and implementation of the policy. NCC will collaborate with VAS operators to develop local content in the telecoms sector,” Adewolu said

In his opening remarks, Adewolu said NCC would continue to consider consultation as a lifeblood of regulation, and that the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA, 2003) entrusted the NCC with powers and responsibilities for the regulation of both the technical and market-related aspects of telecoms infrastructure and services in Nigeria.

“It is important to note that this particular ‘Talk to the Regulator’ session is being held at a crucial point in the evolution of the telecoms sector,” Adewolu further said.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta who was represented at the forum by Adewolu, said NCC clearly understood the challenges of the industry, hence the need for the interaction, which he said, remained critical to industry growth and development. Danbatta however said the operators needed to step up their game and comply with industry regulations and standards in order to succeed in telecoms business.