NCC Advocates Promotion Of Nigeria’s Indigenous Telecommunications Sector

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) asked stakeholders to step up efforts to promote Nigeria's domestic telecommunications industry on Friday.

During an event hosted by the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice President of the NCC, announced this.

The event's focus was on "Establishing Trackable Metrics for Developing Nigeria's Indigenous Telecoms Sector."

The development of the indigenous telecoms industry, according to Danbatta, who was represented by Babagana Digima, the Head of Nigeria's Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS), is essential for the growth of the nation.

He said that the development of effective local engagement in the telecoms sector value chain has always been emphasised by the commission's policy and regulatory framework.

Danbatta added that in recognition of the critical need to strengthen indigenous capability in the telecom industry, the Federal Government announced the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content (NPPIC) in 2021 under the direction of the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy.

According to him, the commission established a number of high-impact goals and interventions that were Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based to ensure the NPPIC's effective implementation (SMART).

“We have not only identified a number of critical stakeholders in the industry, but we have engaged over 30 different entities ranging from MDAs, Mobile Network Operators and SIM manufacturers and mast manufacturers via Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector.

“At a higher level, the commission had identified some time-based metrics for NPPIC which it classified into immediate, short term, medium term, and long-term items.

“Some of the activities include the creation of NODITS dedicated to guiding the policy, the constitution of local content steering committee and engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders.

“Others include commissioning baseline studies on the level of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecoms industry, development of regulations, enforcement key performance Indicators and methodologies,” Danbatta said.

He said that by turning the action points into measurements, the policy's implementation would be sped up and a SMART system for tracking success would be made available.

Danbatta stated that the commission was relying on partners, watchdogs, and industry stakeholders to develop impartial measurements that would guarantee the accomplishment of the NPPIC's objectives.

He stated that NCC was happy to see that some of the initiatives it carried out through NODITS had produced results.

To demonstrate the commission's dedication, Danbatta stated that the NODITS would organise the first-ever Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2022) on August 1 and August 2.

He said the theme of the event was: “Stimulating Development of Indigenous Content through Innovation and Commercialisation”.

He claimed that the primary goal of NTICE 2022 was to advance the four NPPIC emphasis areas of manufacturing, service, people, and research & development for innovation in the telecommunications industry.

The event's co-convener and lead executive of PIAFo, Omobayo Azeez, stated in his remarks that the telecoms industry has unquestionably evolved into a crucial economic facilitator for the nation and its citizens.

He said that despite the positive trend, the industry is still largely dependent on imports, which at the end of each fiscal year led to a capital flight of more than 2.16 billion dollars.

According to Azeez, one of the biggest issues operators would have if they had to rely completely on foreign individuals, ideas, products, and accessories would be the inconvenience of obtaining foreign currency.

“Aas such, operators and customers suffer and even our dear Naira is also at a receiving end as it continues to lose value,” he said.

Azeez asked the Federal Government to use its NPPIC to buck this trend and help the nation and the telecoms sector develop.