· Says NCC will review 2.6GHz spectrum auction
The
Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has lauded the performance of the
nation’s telecommunications industry in the first quarter of 2016,
which he said would even improve in the subsequent quarters of the year.
Speaking
while receiving a consortium of international investors led by UBS
South Africa, Danbatta also disclosed that the commission would soon
meet with operators over the recent auction of 2.6GHz spectrum, which
saw only MTN Nigeria, bid for 6 out of 14 available slots.
“I
think we are happy with the level of compliance to regulatory
stipulations in general, minus the MTN incident, which cast some sort of
shadow in our regulatory derive to ensure sustainability and stability
of the industry.
“I am happy, we are putting
that one behind us, and this is attested to by recent statistics by the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the industry recorded a growth
of 0.5 per cent to GDP in comparison to the same period last year.
“In monetary terms this is going to translate to over N1.4 trillion, only in the first quarter of this year.
“While
other sectors of the economy is recording negative growth, the telecom
industry has been recording positive growth and I think it is poised to
grow even further in the subsequent quarters of the year,” he explained.
Answering
question on the 2.6.GHz spectrums auction, the EVC said: “ We are doing
a post mortem. And we have not yet met with the operators to find out
why they did not bid, except one operator.”
“The
intention is to be able to know their reasons, and to know in what way
the regulator can come in to relax some of the conditions in the
process, if this relaxation can lead to more operators going for the
remaining 8.
“I
am sure the commission will be disposed to looking at the reasons that
prevented other operators from coming forward to bid, except only one,”
he further noted.
He
said, the commission incorporates elements of flexibility in its
dealing with operators, in order to continue to sustain the growth in
the sector, which he said, “has the potential to provide an alternative
to oil and gas”.
Yakubu Musa
SA Media to EVC
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