STILL ON INFRACOS AND ACCESS TO RURAL AREAS

The NCC could do more to actualise infracos open access model, writes Sonny Aragba-Akpore

As beautiful as the document “Öpen Access Model for Next Generation Optic Fibre Broadband Network” was, its implementation may have been one of the problems for licence issuance and roll out obligation by beneficiaries.

Whether it is indecision by the regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the beneficiaries, one thing is sure: the licencing process was not competitive like many other processes were.

Perhaps, political considerations and the need to democratise licensing process were at play, hence the licences were allegedly randomly chosen and awarded.

Before the Digital Mobile Licence (DML) auction in 2001, there were a series of publications in form of an information memorandum (IM) which served as a guide to would-be bidders.

The NCC did house cleaning to know where it was before the auction process could take place.

There was an audit of the licences for Global System of Mobile telecommunications (GSM) services. In all, there were 33 companies with GSM licences backed by frequencies spectrum, but none of these 33 could actualise the mandate of the licences.

So, the first thing the NCC did was to withdraw the 33 licences and frequencies from the 33 Nigerian companies including Motophone Limited promoted by the Chagoury & Chagoury Consortium.

And all the companies filed documents of compliance except Motophone Limited which went to court to challenge the NCC and the federal government for withdrawing its licence and frequencies. But that did not stop the auction of January 2001 which was packaged and put together by the NCC.

The NCC board at that time was chaired by foremost technocrat Alhaji Ahmed Joda (late) and Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) one of Nigeria’s primus inter pares engineers, Dr Ernest Ndukwe. Several consultants were appointed. They included Radio Spectrum International , Charles Rivers & Associates and grundnorm in telecommunications law, Paul Usoro (SAN). Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) represented the federal government.

That was how serious the process was that irretrievably put Nigeria on the global map on how auctions for telecommunications licences could be conducted.

The auction lasted for three full days and every participant was happy at the outcome. But Mr Hakeem Bello – Osagie representing MSI – Celtel backed down in the auction on the second day and left the venue immediately.

The only wholly indigenous bidder,, Communications Investment Limited (CIL) promoted by Mr Mike Adenuga stayed till the end having out bidded every other company including MTN, led by Irene Charnley, Feleng Molusi, Tunde Folawiyo, Victor Odili and Gbenga Oyebode. Econet Wireless Nigeria, promoted by Zimbabwean, Strive Masiyiwa and two Nigerians, Oba Otudeko and Bolaji Balogun.

Adenuga’s CIL was sadly the only bidder that defaulted in the payment of the bid fees of $285m because the frequency assigned to CIL was encumbered. Motophone held on to it and was in court accordingly.

And so Adenuga’s company CIL lost the $20million deposit and the licence in the event of a default in payment of the licence fees at the end of the deadline.

The NCC could not comfort Adenuga and so painful as it was, he moved on because he had a very good understanding of the rules as he ran the race,

But nothing close to the 2001 exercise has taken place at the NCC since then. The only semblance to it was the overhyped event of December 13, 2021, the 5G auction.

The infrastructure companies (Infracos) document released in November 2013, was clear on how licences were to be issued and the processes to take. Put together by the board led then by Mr Peter Egbe Igoh, and executive management led by Dr Eugene Juwah (late), the document arrived after a series of industry stakeholders’ consultations across the country. The consultations included but were not limited to one-on-one sessions with select operators/industry players whose input were evaluated and formed part of the infracos licence process.

The industry consultation paper presented the revised model for the backbone and metropolitan optic fibre infrastructure for broadband deployment in Nigeria based on inputs obtained from various stakeholders’ groups.

Feedback followed until the Commission arrived at what informed the dictum of the infracos licencing and its mandate.

The document stated clearly that the Commission is committed to putting in place a new broadband deployment environment through an “Open Access Model” in line with the National Broadband Plan, having examined the ‘’Open Access Model’’ as the model for optic fibre transmission network deployment to bridge the current access gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to household and businesses’’.

The document also stated that the “Open Access Model’’ will potentially help optimise the cost of broadband access across Nigeria and ensure that all operators, whether large or small have equal access to broadband infrastructure, where the objective is to stimulate a new national broadband network that is not only more widespread but also faster and more secure than what is available today, thereby stimulating other sectors of the economy and leading to higher economic spinoff for Nigeria.”

Besides, connecting efficiency will be offered as well as ultra-speed high-speed broadband services that are available, affordable and sustainable.

Although a little over 100 million internet connectivity exist now, they are limited to the city centres and semi-urban areas leaving the rural areas in a dilemma of connectivity.

Admittedly, administrative bottlenecks have plagued optic fibre deployment in the country, but this notwithstanding, the NCC should begin a spirited campaign to actualise and sustain the infracos Open Access Model document in line with its NBP of 2020 – 2025 and see how it farms out. Who knows, this may be the elixir we are waiting for to connect Nigeria.