NCC Reads Riot Act to Operators

Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC), Engineer Ernest Ndukwe, has stated that henceforth, all operators must comply with statutory and regulatory requirements in the industry. Ndukwe, in a statement made available to THISDAY, emphasised that the Commission decided to hold a stakeholder forum on the need for compliance in the sector, adding that henceforth, licenced operators of telecommunication services who do not comply with statutory and regulatory requirements in the industry will be penalised. He said any operator that does not comply by submitting audited accounts of their operations every year and treating requests for vital information from the regulatory agency with levity will be sanctioned.

Quoting Section 38(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, Ndukwe stated that the Act makes it mandatory for all licence holders to meet the terms stipulated therein. He stated that the Commission has had to deal with licencees who do not meet all their obligations on the terms and conditions of their licences at all times, and this, according to him, slows the work of the Commission to deliver to its various stakeholders. Ndukwe stated that when activities in the sector started in 2000, the major policy thrust was to license operators for the various undertakings in the market, with not much focus on compliance, but with the growth of the sector, it will no longer be business as usual.

NCC Director of Legal Services, Mr Steven Andzenge, according to the statement, reiterated that licencees were expected to comply with: commencement of operation within the one year time frame; roll-out implementation time-table and submission of roll-out status report to the Commission; type-approval of all telecommunication equipment; payment of all relevant regulatory fees, such as annual operating licence and spectrum fees, to the Commission as and when due.
this Article By Efem Nkanga