The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, says he has identified anti-competition industry practices as one of the major challenges bedevilling licensed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Nigeria, which has led to 568 of them being inactive to date.
According to him, a total of 756 companies had been licensed as ISPs in Nigeria as of March 2022, but only 188 were currently active.
Danbatta, speaking at a Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum organised by Business Remarks, listed other issues confronting the internet providers include inadequate spectrum, high price of bandwidth, high cost of Right of Way, and lack of good corporate governance practice in the companies.
He said efforts were being put in place by the regulator to address the issues, to ensure that ISPs and other smaller players in the industry thrive. “Some of the measures the Commission has embarked upon to continue to promote fair play and orderly development of the Nigerian communications ecosystem as well as boost competitiveness of the industry include providing the required regulatory frameworks and interventions in terms of policies, guidelines, determinations etc, that will encourage fair play in the telecommunications industry.
“We are also maintaining and mandating more openness and transparency in the activities of stakeholders within the industry in order to ensure healthy competition practices amongst competing licensees. We are actively engaging in strategic collaborations with stakeholders who have crucial roles to play in the growth and development of the Nigerian economy with an emphasis on the telecommunications sector”, the NCC boss added.
Convener of the Forum and Managing Editor of Business Remarks, Mrs. Bukola Olanrewaju said studies over the years had shown that the licence renewal rate of ISPs in Nigeria continues to drop, even as others take up the licence.
“In view of the critical need for internet connectivity for the digital economy and for mass digitalisation of Nigeria, the role of ISPs is central also for uptake of internet of things (IoT).
“Internet Service Providers in the Nigerian telecommunications industry have been struggling to stay afloat due to challenges confronting their market to remain in business, expand operations and post profit every financial year. In line with the above, findings also showed that most of the ISPs who served the enterprise market lost revenue during the pandemic because their services were cancelled or suspended, despite procuring wholesale capacity,” she added.
