NCC Makes Case For Indigenous Telecoms Sector Growth

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged stakeholders to intensify efforts in the promotion of Nigeria’s indigenous telecommunications sector.
Executive Vice President of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta,  made the call recently during an event organised by the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos.
With the theme, “Establishing Trackable Metrics for Developing Nigeria’s Indigenous Telecoms Sector”, Danbatta, who was represented by the Head of Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS), Babagana Digima, said the development of the indigenous telecommunications sector was vital for the growth of the country.
He said the Commission’s policy and regulatory framework had always laid emphasises on the development of effective local participation of the telecoms sector value chain.
He noted that the Federal Government in 2021 launched a National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content (NPPIC), spearheaded by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, in recognition of the pertinent need to develop indigenous capacity in the telecom sector.
According to him, for effective implementation of the NPPIC, the Commission articulated several targets and high impact interventions, which were Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based (SMART).
“We have not only identified a number of critical stakeholders in the industry, but have also engaged over 30 different entities ranging from MDAs, Mobile Network Operators and SIM manufacturers and mast manufacturers via Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector”, he said.
He continued that  the  higher level at which the Commission had identified some time-based metrics for NPPIC was classified into immediate, short term, medium term, and long-term items.
“Some of the activities include creation of NODITS dedicated to guiding the policy constitution of local content steering committee and engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders.