Mr
Tony Ojobo comes across to you as someone who has seen it all in the Nigeria
telecom business. When on Monday 3rd July 2012 he played host to the
Editorial team of CKN Nigeria at the 6th floor of the expansive
building housing the headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission at
Maitama Abuja,it was obvious the man was on top of his job as he reeled out
figures and data about the industry from his finger tips. A master of the game
you ll say.
In
this all embracing interview,Mr Ojobo,the director, Public Affairs of NCC spoke
on a variety of issues concerning the industry that has seen a massive growth
from a mere 40,000 fixed lines to a whopping 99.4m telephone subscribers within
13 years of the GSM revolution.
This is the concluding part of the Interview.
On
The Recent imposition of N1.7b fine on Gsm Operators
Mr Tony Ojobo said the fine imposed on Airtel,MTN,Glo
and Etisalat was as a result of a deterioration in the quality of services to
their customers.
According to him, the agency periodically assess the
performance of each of the telecom operators especially in the area of service delivery,
customer care and where they are found wanting, appropriate measure are meted
out as a deterrent.
The NCC has to come down hard on the operators after
several warnings..
On
Why the Money was not transferred to the Consumer
He explained that the NCC has no right to temper with
any fund not appropriated by the national Assembly because the money was paid
into the coffers of the Federal Government.Moreso,it will only amount to N10
(ten Naira) to every consumer if the amount is credited to over 99 million
subscribers. To him,the fine was only a wakeup call to the operators to up
their game in the area of service delivery.
He gave an example of how Globacom was fined N5m in the
past and their inability to pay up at the stipulated time incurred additional
payment of N30m (making a total of N35m ) instead of n5m.
Benefits Of The New Mobile Number Portability
The NCC spokesman said come December 2012,the Mobile
Number Portability Scheme will be
introduce in Nigeria.The system will allow customers to switch network from
existing network without losing their number or sim cards.The Mobile Number
Portabilty which is already been implemented in some countries will empower Gsm
operators to abandon any network that is not living up to their expectations.
On what will happen to existing credit on the sims if
switched.He said the credit will still be viable for use on the other network
since the operators will have a clearing system on how to sort out the issue
among themselves.
With this new development according to him,all
operators wil have no choice than to improve their services significantly in
order not to lose their customers to competitors.
2.2% Annual Before Tax Charges on GSM Operators
When asked to clarify the claims by GSM operators that
NCC charges 2.5% Annual tax from their income.Mr Ojobo metioned that those were
statutory levies imposed on them as stipulated in the act setting up their
operations.
The tax is recognized by the Federal government. The
money is paid into Federal government coffers and are accounted for. None of
the funds can be spent by the NCC without an appropriation by the National
Assembly.
Moreso,he said 40% of the funds are spent by USPF in
infrastructural development and as intervention funds in the telecom industry
especially in remote areas where the telecom operators may not have their
infrastructure on ground.
Sales of Unregistered Sim Cards
It is now an offence for any GSM operator to sale unregistered
sim cards to their customers. According to him, immediate sanction awaits any
operator that refused to adhere to this.Already, the NCC have arrested and
sanctioned several dealers who engaged
in this unwholesome act.
Projection
of the industry in the Next 5 Years
The industry within the next five years according to
him will be huge especially in the area of broadband application and use.
Fibre optics would have become a major boost in the
country with internet access reaching homes at high speeds and rates highly
affordable.
Infact according to him,the NCC will be having a
stakeholder conference in Lagos on July 27th on Broadband
application with stakeholders in the industry.
Broadband will also drive the cashless society as been
advocated in the banking sector.
Most of the present hiccups and challenges been
experienced by consumers would have been a thing of the past since most of the
operators are already investing so much in upgrading their facilities in
readiness for the new challenges...CKN