NCC Moves to Resolve N165bn Interconnectivity Debt

Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said that he was seeking ways to resolve interconnectivity debts, which stands at N165bn.
He said this when the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Olusola Teniola, led newly elected members of the ATCON national executive committee on a courtesy visit to the NCC.

“The interconnectivity debts stands today at N165bn and the commission is concerned with how to resolve the issue. Recently, a meeting was held to proffer some long-lasting solutions to the issue of interconnectivity debts,” Danbatta said.

The NCC executive vice chairman stated that there was a need to put a pragmatic plan in place to mitigate the incidence of interconnectivity debts in the industry, “as it is causing a lot of unnecessary distractions for the commission.”
He added that the commission would appreciate suggestions from ATCON that would help to address the issue before it gets worse.

Meanwhile, he commended ATCON for its advocacy in respect to cybercrime levy of 0.005, saying that the sector had contributed N1.43tn to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and needed to talk more about the performance of the industry.
The minister stated that the contribution of N1.43tn was achieved because of the progressive regulation put in place by the NCC, “which has also attracted further investment in the sector.”

On issues concerning Right of Way, he said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had convinced the governors in  buying into the initiative of laying fibre optic cables that would cover over 18000km in Nigeria.

June 12, 2018