Telecom
Operators Buy Obsolete Towers, Seek Investment for Upgrade
Telecommunications tower operators are seeking fresh funds from international finance institutions to upgrade some outdated base transceiver stations (BTS) they acquired from telecommunications operators which offloaded thousands of tower their assets to save cost and concentrate on their business.
It would be recalled that leading Nigerian and African mobile telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel and Etisalat recently sold off over 30,000 tower assets in a move that signaled adoption of a new business model predicated on cutting operational costs to shore up the average revenue per user (ARPU) from voice subscription to independent tower management companies.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that some of the towers acquired in these deals are outdated and are not of economic value in the present model in the tower business.
Also because of the way some of the towers were designed and built, they can only house a single base station and cannot host multiple operators.
A top staff of one of the tower operators who does not want his name in print said that “these towers acquired are small sites; telecom operators built them when their main focus was on coverage, that helped them cover more areas and did not envisage colocation model, now for such sites to be of economic value to the companies that acquired them, they will have to upgrade them to colocation standard. Such upgrades are in height of the towers, land space to accommodate other operators’ base station as well as generators.”
The staff added that the small design of those towers made it difficult for operators that own them then to share them with others operators which forced such operators such as internet service providers and code division multiple access (CDMA) operators to invest in building their own towers even when they didn’t have the resources.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek also learnt that tower operators have today changed their business plan in terms of building additional towers.
Before now, they built towers in anticipation of demand by operators but they now build on demand.
“What we are doing now is for us to go to where the telcos want us to go. If any operator comes to us and say we want to expand our network, give us this number of towers and in these locations we will build for them,” he noted.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said that the development in the management of towers is a testimony that the country’s telecommunications industry is responding to the dynamics of global economic trends, which makes operators more efficient as they focus on the core competent of service delivery.
“In Nigeria, tower operators are faced with problems of approval cost, multiple regulations, multiple taxations and maintenance cost,” he said.
He added that the present system of handing over towers to tower operators will create more jobs as it encourages springing up of supportive players in the industry.
“This is also fallout of our internal regulatory mechanism to ensure growth in the industry. More so, tower sale could be as a result of administrative reasons, cost reduction or shareholders decision,” he said.
Telecom
Glo Felicitates Nigerians on Christmas Celebration
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Telecom
FG Gives Banks, Telcos Six-Month Deadline to Resolve N250Bn USSD Debt
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
Telecom
NCC Launches Initiative to Combat Fraud, Spam Messaging
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled a draft regulatory framework aimed at addressing fraud, spam, and other challenges in the Application-to-Person messaging sector.
The telecom regulator made this announcement in a statement.
The proposed framework, which was introduced during a virtual Stakeholders’ Forum, is said to be a key step towards enhancing the sector’s integrity and ensuring a fair, transparent environment for all parties involved.
The draft framework, presented by Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, NCC, who was represented by Chizua Whyte, NCC’s acting head of legal and regulatory services, seeks to regulate the A2P messaging space.
The A2P messaging, used for notifications such as bank alerts, promotional campaigns, and government updates, has become a vital communication tool in Nigeria.
However, the sector faces significant challenges, including consumer protection concerns, fraud, and data privacy issues, as well as an unequal distribution of value within the ecosystem.
“The international A2P messaging space in Nigeria faces gaps that have led to issues such as fraud, spam, and data privacy concerns. These challenges threaten the sustainable growth of this communication tool,” the NCC said.
The proposed framework aims to address these challenges by protecting consumers, promoting fair competition, and holding service providers accountable.
“This forum marks a pivotal step towards addressing these challenges. We are here to engage with all stakeholders—operators, aggregators, businesses, service providers, and consumers—to refine the framework and ensure it meets the needs of the entire ecosystem.”
The NCC stressed the importance of inclusivity and collaboration in creating an effective regulatory environment.
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