Telecom
NCC Staff Eulogise Aliyu, Aninweke in Retirement
As two management staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) complete the final stage of their disengagement with the regulatory body, the staff of the Commission have continued to eulogise their eventful tenure at the Commission.
Mallam Ibrahim Aliyu, who retired as the Head of Administration, and Chief Okechukwu Aninweke, Head of Risk Management, retired from the Commission upon attainment of 60 year mandatory age of retirement, and were celebrated at different occasions by the staff, who listed their sterling qualities and track record of achievements.
Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, commended Mallam Aliyu for his enormous contributions to the Commission in the 26 years of serving in different departments, including a stint as the Zonal Controller of Lagos Zonal Office.
Pouring encomiums on the two staff, Adewolu appreciated the duo and extended the commendation of the “the Board, Management and entire staff of the Commission to them for their laudable and impressive contributions to the sustainability of the nation’s telecoms industry.” The ECSM prayed God to grant them sound health and minds to continue to positively flourish in their future endeavours.
Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Ephraim Nwokonneya, recalled that both Aliyu and Aninweke’s track record were known for their passion, commitment, and integrity as consummate civil servants, who were sticklers to work ethics and provisions of civil service rules.
“The retirement of Aliyu and Aninweke should expectedly come with the tons and tons of tributes and commendations that we have witnessed so far.
“This is because these two distinguished individuals have come, seen and conquered. Indeed, they left their feet in the sand of times for their sterling performances in various capacities where they creditably served while in the services of the Commission,” he said.
Mr. Usman Malah, Director, Human Capital and Administration, while praising Aliyu for his dedication and several achievements, including some monumental achievements while he served at the Kano Zonal Office, chronicled his sojourn since he joined the NCC in May 1996.
He recalled his achievements in Kano Zonal Office in January 1997 as a Senior Manager, and his feats after his redeployment to Lagos Zonal Office, once again as Principal Manager in January 2001.
Malah spoke about how he, Aliyu, never rested on his oars even when he became the Zonal Controller in Lagos, and later Zonal Controller in Kano.
Aliyu was later redeployed to the Policy Competition and Economic Analysis Department, where he headed the Economic Analysis as Assistant Director and later promoted as Deputy Director and appointed Head of the Administration Department in October 2018. Aliyu also had a stint at Consumer Affairs Department, Project Department, and back to Administration Department from where he retired.
In his momentous sojourn at the Commission, Aninweke was noted to have traversed several departments in NCC, including Licensing (Tariff and Charges), and Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME), before he was redeployed to the Lagos Zonal Office as Principal Manager to head it as Zonal Controller in July 2011.
Aninweke, through his performances and contributions, made tremendous impact at the Lagos Zonal Office as Zonal Controller for almost six years, and he is fondly remembered for his performance in Lagos during which he won the award of the best performing Zonal Controller.
Described as a man that has given his best to the Commission and the nation, Chief Aninweke who joined the NCC in 2001 as a Deputy Manager, had also had track record of eventful and credible performance at the Commission.
Director of Project, Mrs. Abigail Sholanke, recall the entrance of Aninweke, and his dedication to duty, leading to many visible achievements in all the areas of his posting.
He said Aninweke’s type will be hard to forget because of his self-motivation, fearless disposition to carry out responsibilities and his knack for excelling in his assignments.
After his performance as Zonal Controller in Lagos, he was redeployed to the Corporate Planning, Strategy and Risk Management (CPSRM) Department at the Head Office in 2017, where he headed several units, including Performance Management, Policy Review, Strategy, Risk Management, and then Digital Economy (which started as a Unit in CPSRM). While in CPSRM Department, Aninweke articulated and laid the foundation for the take-off of the current Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024.
Apart from his duties at the Commission, he was elected twice as the President of NCC Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society, a position he fittingly and cumulatively occupied for four years while in service, and with high achievements and impactful leadership.
On the sports scene, Aninweke is ranked in the high echelon of professional football referees, where he had served as match commissioner in Nigerian football for several years.
Association of Telecommunication Companies Of Nigeria (ATCON) has highlighted fibre cuts as a major stumbling block to the Nigerian telecom sector’s growth and affirmed its readiness to take strategic measures to tackle submarine fibre disruption in the country.
Tony Emoekpere, president of ATCON, at the first edition of ATCON’s Critical Conversation Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos with the theme: ‘the Direct And Indirect Cause And Impact Of Metro, Terrestrial And Submarine Fibre Disruptions (Cuts)–Short, Medium And Long Term Sustainable Solutions’, stated that, operators cannot continue to pay lip service to issues and challenges that have constituted stumbling block to the telecom sector growth.
The president recall that few months ago, there was a reported case of submarine cuts which significantly impacted Nigeria and some African countries, adding that, “The incidences of Metro, Terrestrial and Submarine Fibre Disruptions have become a recurring decimal which must be addressed by relevant agencies at all levels of government. Our members have had to pay a substantial amount of money to have all these disruptions fixed and this is impacting on their operational expenses which should not be if the perpetrators are brought to book.”
On advocacy, the president said ATCON is seeking ways going forward, adding that ducts should be built when new roads are being constructed. “There is a need to enforce and implement the provision in the Nigeria National Broadband Band Plan 2020-2025 which states that NCC should have a desk officer in each state of the Federation who is expected to be in charge of the fiber network in order to minimize Fiber cuts during roads construction,” he recommended.
The president averred that the telecom sector has been reported to contribute over 14 per cent to the nation’s GDP, adding that, the sector could have done much better if issues like fiber disruption which has constituted a threat to the manifestation of its inherent potentials, is dealt with.
Emoekpere however stressed the need for more collaboration between telecoms operators and government, with developers and road contractors to mitigate the challenges of fiber cuts.
“There must be compensation for fibre cable cuts. Training and awareness creation on the importance of fibre cable and the danger and negative impact of fibre cable cut, cannot be overemphasised. The federal government should declare telecoms assets as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
“Government should come up with policies like ‘Dig Once Policy’ for the implementation of fibre laying to avoid operators damaging cables of other operators during cable laying. There must be a clear database of government agencies giving approvals for road construction to enable telecom companies to have an idea of who they are dealing with as well as the need to have a status update on task responsibilities of ATCON for a follow-up of ATCON activities,” he advocated.
In the same vein, Lekan Balogun, CEO of NetAccess, said, the major causes of fibre cable cut includes Govt/Private Contractors, Man made, planning and Design and Natural causes, while stressing that, there is need for constant engagement between ATCON members, the government and developers.
Balogun proposed short, medium and long term recommendations to forestall fibre cuts, adding that the use of protective materials like metals rather than plastics will help protect the cables from unwanted cuts.
Credit: Leadership
Starlink, Elon Musk’s Internet company, has emerged as Nigeria’s third-largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) with 23,897 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to latest ISP data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday.
According to the NCC data, Starlink’s active customers in Nigeria surged 113 per cent in Q4 2023, from 11,207 customers in the previous quarter, establishing it as one of the leading ISPs in the country.
Spectranet, one of the oldest ISPs in the country, maintained its top position in the market with 113,869 active customers.
FiberOne followed in second place with 27,000 active users at the end of 2023.
ISPs are different from mobile Internet providers, like the telcos such as MTN, Airtel, etc.
They provide Internet through various wired technologies, such as DSL, cable, fibre-optic, or satellite connections. They use fixed infrastructure that requires a physical connection to the home or business.
Starlink launched its services in Nigeria in January 2023, becoming the first African country to receive the service, more than 20 months after SpaceX met with the NCC to outline their deployment plans.
Meanwhile, Spectranet, one of the oldest ISPs in the country, maintained its top position in the market with 113,869 active customers.
FiberOne followed in second place with 27,000 active users at the end of 2023.
ISPs are different from mobile Internet providers, like the telcos such as MTN, Airtel, etc.
They provide Internet through various wired technologies, such as DSL, cable, fibre-optic, or satellite connections.
They use fixed infrastructure that requires a physical connection to the home or business.
Starlink launched its services in Nigeria in January 2023, becoming the first African country to receive the service, more than 20 months after SpaceX met with the NCC to outline their deployment plans.
As of September 2023, just 8 months after its launch, Starlink had amassed 11,207 active subscribers in Nigeria, making it the fourth largest ISP in the country.
Airtel Africa, telecommunications and mobile money services provider, has revealed that its subsidiary, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V., has repaid in full its $550m bond maturing Monday.
This was disclosed in a corporate filing with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NDX) signed by G Simon O’Hara, group company secretary, on Monday.
With this repayment, the company said that it had achieved a zero-debt position at the HoldCo.
The $550m bond was 5.35 per cent Guaranteed Senior Notes.
“This bond repayment of $550m has been made exclusively out of cash reserves at the holding company and is a continuation of its strategy to reduce external foreign currency debt. At the time of the IPO in June 2019, the group had $2,719m of external debt at HoldCo which resulted in significant exposure to currency fluctuations and the reliance on upstreaming funds to cover both interest costs and the principal repayment.
“Through consistent execution of its strategy supporting strong free cash flow generation, and continued upstreaming success, the group has been reducing Holdco debt over the past few years and has now reached the significant milestone of a zero-debt position at HoldCo. The current leverage and capital structure is a reflection of the Group’s successful capital allocation strategy that has been in place since our IPO, and it will aim to continue reducing foreign currency debt obligations across its OpCo’s,” part of the statement from the telecoms provider said.
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