The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has declared that the public inquiry on three of its key regulatory instruments will ensure a more robust framework for the registration of subscribers of communication services.
The exercise, the commission said, would also improve the standards and procedures for SIM Replacements and ensure effective and efficient utilisation of frequency spectrum.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Garba Umar Danbatta, made this known on Tuesday in his welcome address at commencement of the public inquiry.
His words: “It is our expectation that this review will ensure a more robust framework for the registration of subscribers of communication services, improve the standards and procedures for SIM Replacements and ensure effective and efficient utilisation of frequency spectrum.”
Danbatta said the exercise was in line with the commission’s consultative approach in all its regulatory interventions.
The regulatory instruments being reviewed, according to him, were vital to ensuring that the regulatory frameworks that pertained to SIM Registration and Replacement in the communications industry to meet the demands of the digital age and also further enhance the flexibility of the Spectrum Trading regime.
The first instrument, the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, Danbatta said, provided a regulatory framework for the registration of subscribers of communications services utilising subscription mediums.
He said the second instrument, SIM Replacement Guidelines, provided guidance on the standards and procedure which Network Service Providers, NSPs, were expected to adhere to in the process of conducting a SIM Replacement, swap or upgrade.
The was as he pointed out that it was pertinent to add that the commission had also introduced Business Rules for SIM Registration and SIM Replacement to further ensure that the process for SIM activation and Replacement was seamless.
The third instrument, which is the Spectrum Trading Guidelines, the NCC boss said, sought to promote certainty and transparency in the processes of the commission by outlining the detailed procedure and conditions for Spectrum Trading in the Nigerian communications sector.
He explained that the availability of spectrum frequency was a necessary element in the deployment of the Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria, adding that the recent approval of the 5G Deployment Plan by the Federal Government made the process expedient.
He spoke further on the inquiry: “The Public Inquiry is a precursor to the commission’s current drive towards ensuring that frequency spectrum is readily available to Licensees through a rapid and effective process. Also, in view of the resolve of the Federal Government to tackle insurgency and insecurity through citizen identity management, it has become necessary to ensure that the provisions of the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations and SIM Replacement Guidelines are in alignment with the National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration and related activities. It is also important to state that the revision of both instruments is geared towards ensuring a more secure and robust process for the registration/activation and replacement of SIM’s.”
