Telecom
NCC Kicks as Some Operators Refuse to Pay AOL
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has decried the non-compliance of telecommunications operators to the payment of the Annual Operating Levy (AOL).
Funlola Akiode, Director, Licensing and Authorisation, NCC, said during the Annual Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Selected Licence Categories in Lagos, that such act was a breach of operators’ obligation.
Represented by Chukwuma Azikiwe, Head, Post Licensing Unit, NCC, Akiode said that non-compliance to terms, conditions and obligations was of concern to the commission.
He said: “With respect to compliance with Licence terms, conditions and obligations, our recent audit checks revealed that some licensees were not in compliance with obligations such as payment of Annual Operating Levy.
“Some operators are not in compliance with approved Individual Consumer Code of Practice, Type Approval of equipment, submission of statistical data and information on their change of address.
“Another important concern is in the area of licence renewal. We also observed the issue of delay in licence renewal by licensees whose licences have expired or about to expire.
“They erroneously relied on the aspect of the licence document which states that their licence would be automatically renewed.
“I wish to reiterate that renewal of expired licence is not automatic but subject to fulfilment of obligations.”
According to her, renewal of licence is subject to being up to date in payment of AOL, development and publication of approved ICCP.
Akiode said that licence renewal was subjected to updated type approval of telecommunications equipment, payment of spectrum and numbering where applicable, among others.
She urged licensees to take advantage of the forum to sought clarifications on any issue regarding their licence obligations and renewal processes and procedures.
Akiode said that the regulatory body had been recently inundated with complaints by subscribers on issues such as the non-compliance with directions on data roll-over and automatic renewal of data service.
She said that there were complaints on discrepancies in the advertised data speed and actual speed experienced by consumers after subscribing to a service.
She said: “The commission is fully aware and committed to discharging its mandate, especially in facilitating a conducive telecommunication environment and guiding the industry to sustain the achievement already recorded in the industry.
“It can only achieve this with the cooperation and support of the licensees, with respect to compliance with extant laws and subsidiary legislations.”
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is planning to encourage geo-political regions that grants zero charges for ‘Right of Way’ approvals as well not implementing arbitrary charges on telecommunications base stations in their regions with zero tariff.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON disclosed this to Nigeria CommunincationsWeek against the backdrop of incessant closure of base stations in some states.
He said that operators believe that the way out of this arbitrary charges and high cost of RoW approvals is regional tariffs.
“Operators are advocating for a regional tariff which means that geographical regions of Nigeria where cost of doing business for telecommunications operators is extremely high will attract high tariff compared to regions where there is low operating cost.
“Our advocacy of regional tariff is not based on a particular state but on regions. As at today there are regions where we have zero cost of “Right of Way” and low cost of doing business. Tariffs should reflect on operating environment. This means that national rate plan should consider high and low cost of doing business.
“If this is implemented, in a long run we could witness some regions having zero tariff because operational cost in such regions are friendly to operators,” he said.
It would be recalled that Kogi State recently shut down some operators’ base stations on account of local levies which raises the call for discriminatory tariff among geographical locations.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has hit back at Meta Platforms Inc, warning the tech giant that its threat to exit Nigeria will not erase its legal responsibilities or liabilities under the Nigerian law.
Meta said earlier today, May 3, that it “may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
Meta’s warning came after it lost a legal bid last week to overturn a ₦220 million fine imposed by the FCCPC for violations of data protection and consumer rights laws.
Reacting to Meta’s threat, FCCPC, in a statement on Saturday, May 3, described Meta’s statement as “a calculated” move aimed at “inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”
FCCPC said that Meta threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve the company of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
“These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” FCCPC wrote on X.
“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules.
Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.”
Meta may shut down its Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in protest against the substantial fines imposed by multiple government agencies.
The tech giant has been ordered to pay nearly $300 million in fines in Africa’s most populous nation, following regulatory demands which Meta described as “unrealistic.”
In July 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), imposed a $220 million fine on Meta for allegedly discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The commission stated that Meta had failed to engage a Data Protection Compliance Organisation and had not submitted a Nigeria Data Protection Regulation audit report for two consecutive years.
Similarly, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), demanded $37.5 million over unapproved advertising, while the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), announced a $32.8 million fine for an alleged data privacy breach.
Meta challenged the decisions at the Federal High Court in Abuja but was unsuccessful, as the court upheld the fines in a ruling delivered last week.
The court directed the company to comply with payment by the end of June, but Meta has indicated it may not do so, according to the BBC.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company stated in court documents.
Responding to the NDPC’s assertion that Meta’s data processing could expose Nigerian users to health and financial risks, the company said the agency had failed to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”
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