The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has announced the temporary suspension of the issuance of communications licences in three categories.

This was contained in a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, Director, Public Affairs of NCC

The Commission said the suspension was in line with its powers under the Nigerian Communications Act, NCA, 2003 to grant and renew licences, promote fair competition and develop the Communications Industry.

The statement said the Commission “hereby informs all stakeholders of a temporary suspension on issuance of new licences in the following categories.”

The categories include, “Interconnect Exchange Licence, Mobile Virtual Network Operator Licence and Value Added Service Aggregator Licence

“This temporary suspension is necessary to enable the Commission to conduct a thorough review of several key areas within these categories, including the current level of competition, market saturation and current market dynamics.

“The public is invited to note that during the suspension period commencing on 17th of May, 2024, new application for the aforementioned licences will not be accepted.

“This is without prejudice to pending applications before the Commission which will be considered on their merits.

“Any enquiries or clarifications in respect of this Suspension Notice should be forwarded to: [email protected].”

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has issued a stern warning to Nigerians on the dangers of purchasing pre-registered SIM cards.

The Commission emphasized that this practice was illegal and could lead to severe consequences, including imprisonment.

The NCC highlighted that individuals using such SIM cards might inadvertently become implicated in crimes such as identity theft, financial fraud, kidnapping, and armed robbery.

Moreover, the NCC pointed out that the use of pre-registered SIM cards compromises the accuracy of consumer information and hampers efforts to track criminals effectively.

By using such SIM cards, the reliability of data collected on consumers was undermined, making it challenging for authorities to identify and apprehend the actual perpetrators of crimes.

The NCC’s message aimed to educate the public on the risks associated with pre-registered SIM cards and encourage compliance with legal guidelines to enhance national security.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia Solutions and Networks Nigeria, to train young Nigerians on latest 4G/ 5G radio and transmission technologies at the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Digital Parks.

The EVC, led by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijanni, signed the MoU earlier this week.

This means that Nokia Nigeria would be setting up a fully functional 5G/4G test lab, leveraging their latest radio and transmission technologies.

This collaboration, according to NCC, advances the vision to enhance the capacity and skills-set of Nigerians, by equipping them with contemporary skills and knowledge needed to adapt to the rapidly evolving telecommunications industry.

The Commission said the development was in tune with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy’s goal to drive digital literacy and build a pipeline of technical talents across Nigeria.

Nokia Nigeria would also set up an Entrepreneur Learning Programme where it would deliver high-quality vocational training to 200 Nigerian students chosen from across the six geo political zones of Nigeria.

The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday donated 50 sets of HP computer laptops to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, (NCPWD)

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the donation when a delegation from his establishment paid a courtesy visit to NCPWD headquarters in Abuja.

Maida, represented by a Deputy Director in the Commission, Mr Tijani Munguno, said the provision of the ICT equipment was borne out of the NCC’s conviction that Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) required the tools.

He said the equipment would boost digital communications expertise of PWDs to enable them compete favourably in ICT market

Maida said that besides building the digital capacity of PWDs, the equipment would support the commission in its determination to achieve its mandate.

He added that strengthening digital communications for PWDs would boost skills and ensure inclusivity.

”We recognised that in today’s world, access to digital technology is essential to providing quality output and efficiency.

“With these laptops, we hope we can make significant impact on disability community,” he said.

The Executive Secretary, NCPWD, Dr James Lalu, thanked the delegation from the NCC for the donation and support to PWDs.

He expressed his commitment to partner with NCC to advance the digital communications skills and knowledge of PWDs.

Lalu presented National Accessibility Manuals to the delegation to enable NCC get acquainted with the accessibility standard guidelines in their various offices.

Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative, AREAi, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC will work together on the research on tech’s environmental impacts and the digital sector’s role in climate crisis.

Recall that the NCC reported that the total GHG emissions from the energy sector, which is a major enabler of Nigeria’s ICT and digital technology system, is about 34% of the total net GreenHouse Gas emissions of Nigeria, making it the second major contributor of GHG in the country.

Moreso, it is evident that the technology ecosystem has a growing “carbon footprint” and this is from greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that stems from across all the life cycle stages of all technological processes from extraction of raw materials used for the production of software and hardware materials such as laptops, phones, television sets, desktops, among numerous others.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Prince Gideon Olanrewaju – the Chief Executive Officer and Project Manager, AREAi, said that despite concerted efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), the
Information and Communication Industry (ICT) has received little attention even though it is a significant contributor to GHG emissions.

“This is the underlying fact that led to the design of this intervention,” he said.

“It is evident that ICT emissions will not reduce without major concerted efforts that involves broad political and industrial actions and more significantly, a coordinated response that leverages informal approaches in galvanizing key actions across the whole spectrum of involvement across the ICT sector including innovation hubs, technology start-ups, data processing centers and other producers, suppliers and consumers of digital hardware .

“At least in every home in Nigeria there is a mobile phone. There is also data from NCC to show Nigeria’s Internet connectivity.

“In relation 34 per cent of GreenHouse emission is done by the tech ecosystem. The tech ecosystem contributes 34 percent of the greenhouse emissions. This evident based. And this ecosystem is the second major contributor.

“We’ll work with the NCC and NITDA who are regulatory partners in telco system.”

SCALE, funded by the United Kingdom government through the DAP of the FCDO, stands for Smart Climate Awareness, Learning and Empowerment and will be leveraging on research approach, the urgent need to enrich the available evidence base on the role of tech ecosystem stakeholders towards reducing digital environmental footprint is premised on how their knowledge can enable them to 1. manage the life cycle analysis of their products and services, 2. adapt approaches for the measurement of the impacts associated with their IT assets and data centers, 3. innovate around the integration of new measures in all old and new IT processes, 4. develop Digital environmental KPIs.