NCC approved Visafone’s acquisition to save CDMA – Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said that the NCC approved the acquisition of Visafone by MTN to save the Code Division Multiple Access operators in the country.

“With the acquisition, the commission will now engage other top industry players who may have interest in other CDMA players so that the operators won’t just lose out of business.

“If we did this, we shall also be saving the subscribers of these CDMA companies who might have invested so much in terms of commitment to the CDMA system,” he said.

Danbatta added that the NCC would continue to encourage the revival of technologies in the industry.

He spoke at his maiden international press conference, where he said that MTN had communicated the NCC about its withdrawal of the court case the former filed challenging the N680bn fine slammed on it by the commission.

Danbatta said that MTN was fined for contravening regulatory orders on SIM registration procedures.

He, therefore, appealed to subscribers to ensure that they properly register their SIM cards, saying that apart from the need to have a national database, it was also critical to having efficient security checks in the country.

He said that whenever customers experienced cases of unsolicited SMS and arbitrary deductions by operators from subscribers’ airtime, they should lodge complaints at the NCC by dialing the toll-free line 622, and assured them that the case would be resolved.

Meanwhile, the NCC EVC said that the country’s telecommunications sector might have contributed N500bn to the government’s coffers since its inception in the country in 2001.

According to him, the sector has created about 2.5 million jobs directly and indirectly and contributed 9.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product as of December, 2014.

He said that the revenue to government’s coffers came from earnings from spectrum sales, taxes and other telecommunications earning activities between 2001 and 2014.

Danbatta said that these included the facilitation of broadband penetration through provision and optimisation access to and use of affordable fixed and mobile broadband in Nigeria.

“It also includes the optimisation usage and benefits of spectrum; improved quality of service; promoting Information and Communications Technology innovation and investment opportunities; facilitating strategic collaboration and partnership with relevant stakeholders,” he said.