NCC to balance competition with disruptive technologies for sustainable telecoms growt 

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stressed that in the light of disruption in the technology world, it was bent on balancing healthy competition for sustainable telecoms industry growth and development in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated this during a presentation to the commission by a delegation from SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportations services company, at the weekend.

SpaceX is in the process of launching a low-earth orbiting (LOE) constellation of satellites to provide low latency, high bandwidths Internet to all corners of the globe and had identified Nigeria as a critical market.

The firm has been in discussion with NCC for months to procure the necessary licences for Starlink, its satellite-based broadband subsidiary.

Having made substantial progress, the regulator granted SpaceX’s request for a face-to-face talk to gain get more insight into the prospects of its proposal.

Led by SpaceX’s Starlink Market Access Director for Africa, Ryan Goodnight and supported by the company’s consultant, Levin Born, the organisation gave an overview of its plans, expectations, licensing requests and deployment phases during the meeting.

After the presentation, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Ubale Maska, who stood in for the EVC, pledged that the commission would work on modalities to encourage healthy competition vis-à-vis adoption of new technologies to protect stakeholders.

Danbatta noted: “As the regulator of a highly dynamic sector in Nigeria, the commission is conscious of the need to ensure that our regulatory actions are anchored on national interest.

We have listened to your presentation and we will review it vis-à-vis our regulatory direction of ensuring effective and a sustainable telecoms ecosystem where a licensee’s operational model does not dampen healthy competition among other licensees.”