NCC reaffirms commitment to deployment of robust broadband infrastructure

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure accessible to all Nigerians.

Professor Umaru Danbatta, while speaking at a programme tagged, “Fair Digital Finance” as part of programmes to mark this year’s World Consumer Rights Day, said this is to enhance their access to the required resources to carry out seamless digital financial services, irrespective of their locations and circumstances.

In accordance with NCC’s focus to ensure that consumers get satisfaction, Danbatta disclosed that the Commission had finalized arrangements to establish the Telecom Consumer Assistance, Resolution and Enquiries (TELCARE) Desk.

The Desk, he said, will be strategically located in different parts of the county to serve as an additional platform to receive and facilitate the resolution of consumer complaints.

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According to Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde,the Director of Public Affairs in a statement, the event also ran concurrently with a roadshow carried out in Abuja and other NCC zonal offices in different parts of the country, to enlighten telecom consumers on the significance of the WCRD and to engage them on the NCC’s unwavering commitment to consumer protection.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman, Board of Commissioners of NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, said in line with NCC’s mandates, the Board and Management have been upbeat in implementing regulatory initiatives aimed at building a robust digital ecosystem to drive the frontier of digital economy with positive impacts on all other sectors in the nation’s economy.

Alluding to the theme of the WCRD 2022, Akande said considering the increasing number of telecom consumers who are also users of digital finance services, the Commission is working assiduously to ensure that all consumers, including the most vulnerable, are provided with access to manage their finances, and protected from scams, fraud, and phishing to safeguard their data.

On this year’s theme, Adinde quoted Prof. Umar Danbatta, as saying that the WCRD aligns with the emerging realities of the regulatory goals of the Commission.

He informed the audience that the Commission is aware of the dynamic changes in the telecom industry, even as the Commission consolidated the growth in the telecommunication sector since the sector’s liberalisation in 2001.

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Danbatta added further that the growth in the telecom industry has led to convergence in different sectors, especially between telecoms and the financial service sector.

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According to him, there is no greater demonstration of this than the fact that financial transactions that were once conducted in-person at banking halls are now undertaken on consumers’ mobile devices.

“Financial and commercial activities have been digitised, and the most common of this is the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), which has brought ease to financial transactions,” he said.

The NCC chair declared that NCC embarked on various initiatives including the licensing of Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos), effective utilization of spectrum, industry collaboration to address operators’ challenges, increased collaborations with relevant government agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He explained that the central objective of these initiatives is to ensure availability, accessibility and affordability of ubiquitous broadband services to drive growth in all sectors, including the financial services sector.

The EVC explained further that the Commission has been working hard to ensure that broadband penetration gets to every part of the country. He asserted that the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 195.4 million while Internet subscription has exceeded 141 million, because there has been increasing broadband penetration which stood at 40.88 per cent as at December 2021.

Representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), CBN, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators (ALTON), the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF), National Disability Empowerment Forum (NDEF), telecom operators, among other stakeholders, commended the Commission for all its consumer-centric initiatives and assured of their continuing collaboration towards creating a safer cyber space for digital service users in Nigeria.