NCC Moves to Mitigate Risks Associated with Emerging Technologies to Save Telecoms’ Industry

Emma Okonji

Worried about the negative impact of emerging technologies on telecoms industry, which has forced the Fixed Wired Operators and other telecoms services providers to go out of business, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stressed the need for risk management in the telecoms sector in order to mitigate some of the risks emanating from the deployment of emerging technologies like Blockchain Technology, 5G Technology, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoTs), among others.

The NCC said move became necessary in order to save the telecoms sector from collapse.

Speaking at a two-day telecoms risk management conference organised by the NCC, with the theme: “Evolution And Future of Risk Management in the Telecoms Industry,” in Lagos, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said in an era filled with technology advancements from emerging technologies, there would be need for effective risk management.

According to him, “Today Nigeria stands on a cross-road of tradition and transformation, where emerging technologies and trends present both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. More technologies are emerging and researchers have started looking at the possibilities of 6G and 7G technologies that come with extremely low latency and very high connectivity rate and these new technologies are posing new risks from cybersecurity threat, health threat, social threat, to environmental threat, which call for protection of the telecoms industry for inclusive future. As technologies emerge, they come with fresh sets of challenges that can impact negatively on businesses, if their risks are not properly managed,” Maida said.

Represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services at NCC, Ubali Maska, he said managing risks in the telecoms industry would require collaboration between the regulator and the telecoms industry operators.

He therefore called for a proactive approach to ensure seamless integration of all emerging technologies for the growth of the industry. He said NCC would continue to encourage innovation in the telecoms industry, while ensuring adequate security of telecoms services.

In his welcome address, the Head, Corporate Planning, Strategy and Risk Management Department at NCC, Mr. Kelechi Nwankwo, said NCC organised the risk management conference in order to create awareness about on the associated risks with emerging technologies, with a view to managing the risks and also take advantage of the opportunities that are inherent in the risks.

“In every industry risk, there are underlying opportunities that could encourage industry growth. NCC is poised at ensuring that the telecoms industry remains resilient by reviewing the operating standards in the sector, and also introducing new standards. We need globally accepted standards for the telecoms industry that the operators can rely on in building their networks and NCC is already standardising its information system in line with the ISO international standard,” Nwankwo said.

He explained that the World Economic Forum has identified five critical risks that could impact global businesses.

He added that the most important among the five, are risks two and four, which focused on AI misinformation and disinformation, as well as cybersecurity risks.

“The essence of the conference is to look at the risks and factor ways to mitigate the risks, “Nwankwo further said.

The lead speaker and Executive Partner at Green Mount Consulting, Dr. Jacob Afolabi, spoke on the theme: “Evolution And Future Risk Management in the Telecom Industry-Harnessing Emerging Technologies And Trends.”

He looked at issues in risk evaluation and management; some specific telecoms risk; and strategies for sustainable growth.

According to him the telecoms industry in Nigeria is burdened with high cost in the delivery of quality telecoms services, “including the burden of Right of Way (RoW) issues and multiple taxation, in the midst of increasing CAPEX burden due to the ever changing technologies that have both CAPEX and talent risks, a development, he said, had forced many telecoms operators out of business. He discussed some of the basic methods of risk management and steps towards performing risk evaluation.”

Speaking, a Member of Fobes Technology Council, Lola Adeyemi, looked at the evolution of wireless communication generational growth; the evolution of 5G, 6G and 7G technologies and their benefits; the potential risks of emerging technologies and how to mitigate such risks for industry growth.

According to her, researchers and experts have identified potential risks associated with 6G and 7G technologies, such as security risks, privacy risks, ethical risks, health and wellness risks and environmental risks. She therefore suggested that compliance with relevant regulations and standards, as well as proper conduct of risk assessment and management, would help in mitigating the identified risks.