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Thursday 23rd March, 2023

Telecoms

Issuance Of New SIMs With Mandatory NIN Begins April 19 -FG

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The Federal Government has through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, said that the implementation of the Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration will commence on Monday, 19th of April 2021. 

It also added that the issuance of New SIMs and other suspended activities will resume on the same date, as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.

Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said in a statement on Thursday that the Honourable Minister has also directed NCC and NIMC to ensure that the provisions of the Policy are strictly followed by all operators and subscribers.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that significant progress has been made in the NIN registration process across the country and reiterated its commitment to supporting all Nigerians and legal residents to obtain a NIN.

While admitting that though the biometric verification process has been slower than anticipated, owing largely to the non-adherence of many previous SIM biometric capture processes to the NIMC standards, it assured that the Revised Policy will ensure that operators conform to the required standards for biometric capture.

Recall that in line with the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, Section 23(a), which specifies the role of the Minister to include the formulation, determination and monitoring of the general policy for the communications sector, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami coordinated and led the development of a Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration in collaboration with all other stakeholders.

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Recall also that an earlier Policy was approved on the 4th of February 2020, while the Revised Policy was developed in early March 2021.

The final amendments to the revised Policy based on the directives of President Buhari to make the use of NIN mandatory for all SIM registration were completed on Wednesday, 14th of April, 2021.

But in a statement on Thursday signed by Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Federal Government stated that the Revised Policy includes Guidelines on New SIM Acquisition and Activation, SIM Replacement, New SIM Activation for Corporates and Internet-of-Things/Machine-to-Machine (IoT/M2M), amongst others.

“The Guidelines in the Policy have been painstakingly developed and while they are thorough, it should be noted that they have been developed that way in National interest since the SIM is essentially a national resource.

“Citizens and legal residents are encouraged to bear with the government as the process has been developed in the best interest of the country,” the statement read in part.

The statement further revealed that the possession of a National Identity number will be a prerequisite for each of these categories.

“For the Corporate registration, institutions will be required to appoint a Telecoms Master (at the minimum of an Executive Management level) to provide the operational Primary NIN representation.  The Telecoms Master will also be responsible to ensure that the users provide their NINs to serve as a Secondary NIN.

“For IoT/M2M activations, SIM security protocols would be implemented on the SIM profile to ensure that SIMs can only be used for point to point data services specific to the URL they are working with.  All other services will be barred.

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“In the event that a data-only service is particular to individual use (eg home car tracking, WiFi, MiFi services, etc), the standard NIN registration process will be followed. A Telecoms Master will also be required for Corporates requiring IoT/M2M activations,” the statement further explained.

The full details of the requirements for each class of service will be made available in due course.

The statement quoted Dr Pantami as expressing thanks to Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise and reiterated the government’s commitment to continue taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.

 

 

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Founder/Editor of www.digitaltimesng.com. He is passionate about technology and how it can be used to transform human life, businesses and services.

Telecoms

7 Months After Ministerial Objection, FG Removes 5% Excise Duty For Telecoms Sector

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L-R: Jacqueline Olowolayemo, Senior Administrative Manager, Mafab Communications Ltd.; Prof Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau and Anas Galadima, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, MTN Nigeria, during a press briefing by the Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector in Abuja on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Seven months after the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami led objections to the proposed application of 5 per cent excise duty on Nigeria’s telecom sector, the Federal Government Tuesday officially announced the removal of excise duty for the telecom sub-sector of Nigeria’s Digital Economy Industry.

The removal of excise duty in the sub-sector, Digital TimesNG learnt, is in line with the recommendations of the Committee the Federal Government constituted to review the applicability of the Duty to the telecom sector which is considered already overburdened with taxation and sundry levies.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this good news on Tuesday at a press briefing organised to provide updates on the status of the 5 per cent excise duty, whose applicability to the telecom sector was objected to by the Minister in August 2022.

Recall that in response to this objection, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended the application of excise duty to the telecom sector and set up a Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector.

Pantami, who is the Chairman of the Committee, specifically set up for the purpose of reviewing the proposed excise duty in the telecom sector, said the Committee had carried out its national assignment and accordingly submitted its report to the President, justifying why the sector should be exempted.

The Minister said the Committee’s submissions can be summed up in three arguments put forward to justify why additional burden in form of taxes or any level should not be imposed on the telecom sector to prevent a reversal of the important contribution the sector is making to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

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“Our justifications are based on three premises: First, is the fact that operators in the telecoms sub-sector of the digital economy industry currently pay no fewer than 41 different categories of taxes, levies and charges; secondly, that telecoms have continued to be a major contributor to the Nigerian economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product Contribution (GDP).

“The third ground for contesting the Excise Duty in the telecom sector is the fact that, despite the increase in the cost of all factors of production across the sector, and naturally leading to increase in costs of products and services, telecom sector is the only sector where the cost of service has been stable and in many cases continued to go down over the past years and therefore, adding more burden will destroy the sector,” the Minister said.

Pantami also informed the gathering that the President, having looked into the arguments put forward by the Committee and relying on the provision of Section 5 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, as amended, has therefore, exempted the telecom sector from the list of sectors to pay the excise duty as stated in Finance Act of 2021 and other subsidiary legislations, all of which are not as superior as the Constitution which permits the President to grant such waiver.

“I am happy to report to you that President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the exemption of the digital economy sector from the five per cent excise duty to be paid and this is because of the strength of the argument presented to him by the Committee that additional burden on telecom sector will increase the sufferings of Nigerians and that other sectors that are not making as much contribution to the economy should be challenged to do more and pay the 5 per cent excise duty.”

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The Minister assured Nigerians, who are telecom consumers, that the presidential exemption given to the telecom sector shall be sustained by the incoming administration as “the decision by the President is not about any political party or any administration but about Nigeria and welfare of Nigerian citizens.”

The Minister further noted that the Digital Economy Sector has continued to contribute significantly to the growth of the Nigerian economy, having contributed 14.07 per cent to the GDP in the first quarter of 2020; 17.79 per cent in the second quarter of 2021; and 18.44 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

He said the sector has also increased its quarterly revenue generation for the government from N51 billion to over N480 billion, representing a growth of 594 per cent; while the cost of buying data has also reduced from N1,200 in 2019 to N350 presently, despite the increase in the cost of operations, including the energy challenge that has caused mobile network operators to power base stations with over 32,000 power generating to provide seamless services to their teeming consumers.

 

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Telecoms

2023 WCRD Theme, A Call To Examine Environmental Impact Of Telecom- Adewolu

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Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the theme of this year’s World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD), which is “Empowering Consumers through Clean Energy Transition,” provides players in the telecommunication industry the opportunity to carefully examine the unintended side effects of the industry’s critical social infrastructure on the environment.

Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM) stated this in his opening remarks at the celebration of the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day held at the NCC headquarters annex, in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that the celebration is being pivoted around a theme that allows telecom service providers and stakeholders to design more environmentally sustainable service models that would enable them truly serve the consumer better.

Adewolu noted that the Nigerian telecoms industry today boasts of over 226 million voice customers and over 156 million Internet customers as of January 31, 2023, who leverage communications infrastructure for social interaction, health service, access to education, and banking, among others.

“As consumer volumes and service diversity continue to grow, network operators have to roll out more infrastructure for coverage in new, mostly rural areas, and for network expansion in already saturated urban markets.

“Emerging technologies like 5th Generation (5G) mobile services will also require more infrastructure. These infrastructure components are mostly powered by fossil fuels to ensure 100% availability,” he said.

To understand further, the environmental impact of these activities, Adewolu raised some posers for telecom stakeholders especially, the service providers at the event:

“Are there more environmentally conscious means by which we can power network infrastructure and reduce our carbon footprint? Telecoms infrastructure has helped to reduce other environment-impacting activities such as travel – can we quantify these benefits and do they offset the negative impacts?

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“Have we convinced everyone about the safety of electromagnetic emissions? Can we find a balance between environmentally-friendly network operations and cheaper services; or do we have to choose one over the other? How can we improve the quality of the environment through our network services and how can we grow public consciousness about responsible services using telecoms infrastructure?”

He challenged the stakeholders to find answers to these and other nagging questions.

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Telecoms

Danbatta Outlines NCC’s Initiatives Aimed At Protecting The Nigerian Environment

The EVC promised that in the course of the year, the Commission’s Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) will sensitize telecom consumers about these interventions aimed at making the environment better for all of humanity.

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Nigeria’s telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has in addition to the policy on renewable energy in the telecom sector, put in place laudable initiatives geared towards protecting the Nigerian environment, Digital Times Nigeria can report.

For instance, the Commission has in recent years introduced a regulatory framework on infrastructure sharing and collocation among the licensees which the Commission admitted, has encouraged operators to fully maximise their already-deployment infrastructure.

Speaking at the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day celebration held in Abuja, NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta pointed out that by sharing infrastructure, some operators do not need to entirely build a telecoms site in an area where another operator had deployed one.

“With the challenge of inadequate public electricity supply in Nigeria, telecom companies rely on diesel-powered generators to keep their telecom sites live round-the-clock. A regulatory framework such as infrastructure sharing, and collocation is helping in this regard and the Commission has recorded appreciable adoption of this regulation,” Danbatta elaborated.

Another regulatory initiative embarked upon by the NCC for a clean Nigerian environment is the Commission’s Type Approval Regulations, which promotes the NCC’s official authorisation prior to the use or supply of an Equipment Type in Nigeria.

“Our Type Approval of devices factors in energy efficiency, among others, which ensures a reduction of power consumption. It also ensures that Radio Frequency devices used in Nigeria operate effectively, without causing harmful interference and otherwise comply with the Commission’s technical requirement prior to importation or marketing,” the NCC boss said.

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Yet, the NCC-organised annual tech innovation competitions for young innovators in Nigeria, also make considerations for inventions that address the challenges of renewable energy.

The NCC EVC noted at the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day celebration in Abuja, that some of the entries submitted in this regard are in the process of being commercialized as the innovators are seeking investors to make their discoveries available to the public.

“The Commission will continue to support research and innovations that contribute to transitioning to renewable energy sources,” he said.

Also connected to NCC’s regulatory efforts in dealing with issues of sanitizing the Nigerian environment were its efforts in 2019 to commence activities that will result in the formulation of a Regulation on E-Waste in Nigeria.

It is obvious like the EVC noted, that today, the global concern for the regulation of e-waste is two-pronged. First, is the acute awareness of the hazardous properties and the potential risk to human health, as well as their capacity to degrade the environment.

Secondly, is the business case and vast potential for wealth creation in recycling e-waste into more benign and productive uses.

But in line with its regulatory mandate and to keep pace with efforts at managing e-waste-related issues, in a manner that reduces cases of indiscriminate burning of electronic devices with the potential for increased carbon emission in the environment, the Commission has been working, with other relevant agencies, to develop Regulations on E-waste.

The Regulations, according to Danbatta, will represent a holistic intervention aimed at providing clarity and delimiting the responsibilities of various stakeholders in the e-waste value chain within the telecommunications industry, adding that while the proposed Regulations are industry-specific, they, nonetheless, key into other initiatives at national and international levels.

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The EVC promised that in the course of the year, the Commission’s Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) will sensitize telecom consumers about these interventions aimed at making the environment better for all of humanity.

“The CAB will carry this out as part of its Consumer Education mandate, with a significant part of this effort dedicated to providing information that equips the consumer to thrive in a world that has embraced digital finance.

“Through its outreach programmes, which have continued to re-tool to reflect existing realities and trends, the CAB will use its consumer-centric initiatives such as the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP), Telecom Consumer Town Hall on Radio (TCTHR), Telecom Consumer Conversations (TCC) as well as social media platforms and Consumer Portal to sensitize consumers on how renewable energy benefits them and their role in achieving industry transition to it in the interest of the environment,” Danbatta pledged.

He informed his audience that the Bureau will develop and produce various consumer education materials such as Flexi and Roll-up Banners, and Handbills, and update its Consumer Handbook to include the message about renewable energy.

Danbatta assured that as the global community celebrates World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2023, the theme of this year will form part of the consideration of the Commission’s regulatory mandate and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to responsibly use the world’s resources, including protecting the environment by supporting the industry, to transition to renewable energy.

 

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