This Day

Nigeria's Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that it is seeking to reclaim unused radio spectrum from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) which could be resold to the mobile network operators.

There have been several meetings already to secure the release of addition 2.5Ghz spectrum, although local politics has proven to be a barrier to progress.

The Federal Government has finally approved the adoption of “guided liquidation” strategy for the privatisation of Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL) and its mobile arm, M-Tel because of the huge liabilities of both companies.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had last year said government was considering a guided liquidation of the firm should the reserve bidder, Omen International, fail to pay the $105 million bid security by Friday, June 17. Omen defaulted.

A newly-released United Nations report has revealed that West Africa is facing a significant increase in waste generated by electronic equipment which poses mounting health and environmental risks.

About 85 per cent of the waste produced in the region comes from domestic consumption, the report revealed. However, the problem is further exacerbated by industrialised countries importing used equipment which often proves to be unsuitable for re-use and end up being discarded, it added.

Nigerians who were hoping to see the rollout of newly licensed Fixed Line operators may have to wait a little further, following a recent revelation by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator.

NCC said in Lagos that the Commission was aware of the shortage of Fixed Line operations in the country, but that it was not in a hurry to licence additional operators, as a result of the low broadband penetration in the country.

Varied reactions have greeted the recent release of the country's draft National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, which seeks to harmonise all existing disparate ICT policies into a single ICT policy.

The Ministry of Communications Technology had on Monday, released the draft National ICT policy on its website and called on stakeholders and the general public to study the document and make their inputs within two weeks.

Following the successful launch of NigComSat-1R into space on Monday, December 19, 2011, and its successful landing in its orbital position in space on Tuesday December 27, 2011, which was barely 168 hours after it was launched from the earth surface, the communications satellite will commence full commercial service February 6, 2012.

Determined to boost network quality, Airtel has said it had invested over $600 million- that is, N93 billion, in the past one year to expand network capacity and enhance quality of service (QoS) on its network. Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Airtel, Deepak Srivastava, who disclosed this during a visit to company's newly commissioned Green-Site at the weekend in Lekki, Lagos, said the Green-Site harboured its latest base stations that are powered by solar energy.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Prof. Cleopas Angaye, has said the national software policy being developed by the Federal Government will help in making the economy knowledge-driven rather one that is based on revenue from oil alone.

Angaye who stated this at the just-concluded national software conference and competition organised by the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), noted that the national software policy is expected to guide the deployment of local software.

The Minister of Communications and Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has declared support for the calls to make Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in the country, a critical infrastructure protected by law.

The serial vandalism of telecommunications equipment in the industry, characterised by insecurity of infrastructure, incessant fibre cuts, vandalism of base transceiver stations and attack on personnel of telecom companies had led to calls for ICT infrastructure to be protected by the federal government through a law.