· Licensees of Value Added Service providers (VAS) in the telecommunications sector, are finding difficulties to pay their respective levies, staff salaries and other expenses due to severe cash crunch
· This has become a source of worry for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
· To add fuel to the oil, about 27 licensees of the commission were said to have returned their licenses in the last three years, largely due to the economic realities in the country and situations in the industry
Licensees of Value Added Service providers (VAS) in the telecommunications sector, are finding difficulties to pay their respective levies, staff salaries and other expenses due to severe cash crunch. This has become a source of worry for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). To add fuel to the oil, about 27 licensees of the commission were said to have returned their licenses in the last three years, largely due to the economic realities in the country and situations in the industry. NCC has conveyed its anguish about the developments during its talks with the regulator.
The dialogue with the regulator is an important event for the stakeholders to engage with licensees and to build trust with them. It helps to take stock of the situation jointly issues that are negatively affecting license compliance and industry growth.”
A number of licensees are struggling to pay their staff. Many are unable to comply with basic license obligations. A good number of them are defaulting in the payment of their Annual Operating Levies (AOL). The level of interconnect and other inter- licensee indebtedness is still unacceptably high. AOL is steep with 2.5 per cent of the yearly turnover of operators to be paid to the NCC, which is a very hefty demand. The interconnect debts hover between N70 billion and N100 billion.
The NCC Board and Management said they are fully committed to making necessary adjustments wherever possible to help industry achieve the national interest objectives set out in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) has also set out standards for operators to achieve
