The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has listed one of the major achievements of some of recent policies, especially as it relates to local content development and specifically the ban on the importation of whole-body subscriber identification module (SIM) cards, as improved SIM manufacturing capacity in the country,
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, while speaking at the just concluded NTICE 2023 Expo in Lagos, disclosed that the ban on SIM card importation had not only eased demand for foreign exchange (FX) by the sector but also created a local opportunity of over N55 billion for the local SIM card manufacturers with the attendant benefits of job creation to the economy.
The EVC said that Nigeria, with its rich history of innovation, resilience, and creativity as well as our diverse culture, talents, and perspectives has created solutions that uniquely cater to the sector’s challenges and aspirations.
Represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Ubale Maska, at the forum, Danbatta further disclosed that the Nigerian telecoms sector was among the biggest contributors to the socio-economic growth of the country.
He said: “It is not out of place to mention that the sector’s performance was instrumental in lifting Nigeria out of recession with a 12.45 per cent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q4 2020. This figure increased to 14.13 per cent as at Q1 2023.
“The Sector is also home to two of the most valuable listed companies in Nigeria with a collective market capitalization over N10.45 trillion,” Danbatta added.
The industry regulator recalled that the NCC between 2021 and 2022 generated revenue of over $820 million from the auction and grant of 3.5GHz spectrum band licences to three operators to boost the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) services in the country, thereby positioning Nigeria on the global 5G map ahead of many countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The EVC expatiated: “It is also important to note that while Quality of Service and Quality of Experience in telecommunications services in Nigeria have continued to improve, tariffs have remained stable notwithstanding the increase in cost-of-service provision to the telecom operators. To sustain and further improve the quality of service and quality of experience in telecommunications services in Nigeria, we must embrace indigenous content and value creation within the telecoms value chain, otherwise, an increase in telecoms tariff will be inevitable.
“The commission is fully committed to the Federal Government’s drive to place the Nigerian Economy on a sustainable pedestal through all the necessary policies put in place.
“When we created the Nigeria Office for Development of Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) as a Special Purpose Vehicle under the commission to drive the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications sector in July 2021, the Office was given four areas of focus: Manufacturing, Human Capacity, Research and Development (R&D) and Software and Services development for the telecoms sector.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that NTICE is one of the achievements of NCC through NODITS because it has served not only to promote pillar number five (Strategic Partnering) of the Strategic Management Plan SMP 2020- 2024 of the Commission but has also become the flagship indigenous content event for the industry”, Danbatta added.
To further boost the telecom industry’s growth, the EVC disclosed that the commission had also incentivized the manufacturing of Corrugated Optic Duct (COD) that will be used to protect the nation’s fibre infrastructure from incessant cuts by criminals.
This is even as he hinted that the commission was committed to continuously supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and innovators to promote talented youths and venture capitalists through angel investments, R&D support, exposure to investors and sponsorship to local and international tech events.
