For the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, leading the agency to achieve the mandate of the federal government to deliver digital values for the socio-economic upliftment of Nigerians and at the same time engendering conducive environment for operators and investors to thrive in the sector, and in the process contributing to the common wealth of the nation, form the basis for the many local and international recognitions and accolades he been decorated with.
In more specific terms, however, these can be captured through various metrics that measure how the NCC has fared under its current EVC, Prof. Danbatta, to achieve its mandates, and as such justify the desirability for the various awards he has received.
Telecoms Contribution to National GDP
The telecoms industry has remained a major contributor to Nigeria’s national economy with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. It currently contributes 15.35 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as at the third quarter of 2022, higher than 14.20 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Of this figure, the telecoms segment of the ICT economy contributed 12.85 per cent in the third quarter. In fact, in the preceding second quarter of 2022 when total ICT contribution to GDP was higher at 18.94 per cent, telecoms also contributed the lion share to the figure at 15 per cent.
Industry experts who considered these figures a quantum leap from just from 8.5 per cent in 2015 when Prof. Danbatta came on board have ascribed the development to the excellent regulation of sector under his leadership.
Telecom Investment Inflow
From less than $500 million investment in 2001, the investment profile in the nation’s telecommunications sector hit $38 billion in 2015 when the current EVC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, assumed office. Since then, the sector has further attracted investments from both local and foreign investors, leading to the current over $70 billion valuation of the sector. The rewards for such investment flow is not lost on other metrics of development of the sector.
For instance, total active telephones lines available to Nigerians which stood at 151 million as at December 2015 have soared significantly to 222.57 million after seven years of Prof. Danbatta’s reign in office, representing 47.39 per cent.
Broadband Penetration
The same goes with internet and broadband access and penetration in the country. Latest industry data officially obtained from the Commission indicate that from 105.06 million in October 2018, basic internet subscriptions hit 154.84 million at the end of 2022, representing 47.38 per cent growths.
Similarly, broadband or high-speed internet penetration has been driven higher through various policies and initiatives of the commission. Globally, growth in broadband is acknowledged to reflect direct positive impact on the GDP fortune of any nation, and here, Nigeria is not an exception.
After helping to achieve 30 per cent broadband penetration target stipulated in the Nigeria National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2013-2018, Prof. Danbatta is now leading the Commission to deliver 70 per cent penetration target by 2025 as documented in the current National Broadband Plan 2020-2025.
At the end of December 2022, Nigeria had already attained 47.36 per cent penetration which translated into 90.4 million connections to the high-speed internet in the country.
Deployment of Next-gen Technologies
It would be recalled that when the EVC came on board, third generation long term evolution (3G LTE) was in vogue but since then the bar of internet connectivity has been raised to fourth generation long term evolution (4G LTE) quality of service and currently. Today, Nigeria is catching up with early adopters of fifth generation internet technology (5G) after the NCC licensed MTN Nigeria, Mafab Communications and Airtel Nigeria to roll out the fastest internet tech the world has ever seen.
Quality and Cost of Service
NCC has consistently addressed quality of service delivery through effective monitoring of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and development of KPIs for 3G and 4G to enhance quality of service experience for telecoms consumers. Even as service quality improves, there has also been a reduction in the cost of data by well over 75 per cent from $11.15 in mid-2014 to $2.78 at the end of 2019.
This is according to a study by Research ICT Africa‘s (RIA‘s) 1GB Basket Statistics. According to the study, the average cost of data now has come down to around N500 from N1000 per Gigabyte of data, considering the fact that most operators now offer 2GB of data for N1000 or even less.
Spectrum Revenue generation for Government
NCC, under Prof. Danbatta’s foresight and leadership, was the first telecoms regulator to embark on trial of 5G technology in West Africa. After a rigorous process, the NCC conducted the auction of 3.5GHz spectrum to deploy 5G network in December 2021 where MTN and Mafab Communications emerged as the winners.
From the auction, the NCC raked in over $500 million which was remitted into the FG’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), as prescribed by law. On September 18, 2022, MTN held a commercial launch of its 5G services in Lagos while Mafab has also launched commercially in Lagos and Abuja.
Also, the Commission has issued the third 5G spectrum licence to Airtel Nigeria, following its meeting the requirements in the Information Memorandum (IM). It again generated another $273 million from the spectrum sales to Airtel.
This is in addition to the revenue earlier generated by the Commission between 2015 and early 2020, wherein the Commission had remitted N344.71 billion to Federal Government’s CRF from spectrum fees and operating surplus. The NCC, under Prof. Danbatta also embarked on spectrum auctions, re-planning, re-farming to optimise the usage of the scarce resource, especially as facilitated by the SVP 2015-2020 and also in the SVP 2021-2025.
Strategic Vision Plans 1 & 2
When Prof. Danbatta took the mantle of leadership at NCC, he came onboard with the articulation of Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) for the fiscal years 2015-2020 after due consultation with industry stakeholders. The SVP 1 was focused on an 8-Point Agenda, whose diligent implementation significantly improved the growth of the sector and the sector’s contribution to national GDP from 2015 till date.
Facilitate Broadband Penetration, Improve Quality of Service, Optimize Usage and Benefits of Spectrum, Promote ICT Innovation and Investment Opportunities, Facilitate Strategic Collaboration and Partnership, Empower and Protect Consumers, Promote Fair Competition and Inclusive Growth and lastly, Ensure Regulatory Excellence and Operational Efficiency were the key planks of the SVP 2015-2020.
As a follow-up and based on the need to take the Commission to greater heights, the NCC facilitated the development of a new Strategic Vision Plan which was unveiled on September 7, 2021.
Speaking at the unveiling of the SVP 2 in September 2021, Prof. Danbatta had noted that in developing the new SVP (2021 – 2025), “we have taken cognizance of the several notable advancements in the Nigerian telecommunications industry within the last five years, as well as the current global realities.“
According to him, these realities, all of which, he said, had been incorporated into the New SVP 2, include the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)‘s Strategic Plan (2020 – 2023), the Commission‘s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a digital Nigeria, the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.
The current SVP 2021-2025 or 5-Point Agenda, has five unique visions namely: Organizational Renewal for Operational Efficiency and Regulatory Excellence; Facilitate the Provision of Infrastructure for a Digital Economy which fosters National Development; Promote Fair Competition, Inclusive Growth, Increased investment and Innovative Services; Improve Quality of Service (QoS) for Enhanced Consumer Quality of Experience (QoE); and Facilitate Strategic Collaboration and Partnership.
Strategic Collaboration and Partnership
From all indications, the two Vision Plans have served as effective compasses helping the commission to maintain focus to deliver its mandates without a moment of distraction despite the many economic downtowns that Nigerian had had to deal with since 2015 till date. With the solid support from the Federal Government and licenced telecommunications companies, the Nigerian telecommunications sector is poised to remain on an upward trajectory of growth for the benefits of millions of telecommunication consumers nationwide in the years ahead.
