GSM subscriber base hits 130mn – NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said subscribers figures in the country has now reached 130 million.

Its Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah, who spoke in Abuja, said the growth has been phenomenal and significant.

Juwah who was represented by the Commission's Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo,  said the sector began its journey in 2001 with about 400,000 subscribers, noting that by this year, it was a miracle that 130 million Nigerians now use global system for mobile (GSM) communication.

He said in terms of employment opportunities, economic activities and value addition to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), the industry remained at the lead, stressing that soon, another revolution would be witnessed in the sector.

The EVC who spoke at the NCC Special Day at the on-going Abuja International Trade Fair, said the coming revolution in the sector would be precipitated by the massive investment in infrastructure by service providers and the NCC.

Juwah said seven infrastructure companies would be licensed in the next few weeks to provide the infrastructural requirements to drive the services.
His words:  '130 million subscribers, that is a phenomenon, that is a miracle. 'We believe that this nation is going to move forward, and just as we saw in the telecommunication sector, we are going to see the miracle in other sectors in this nation.

'You are aware that the Commission has engaged some consultants and we have adopted the open access model for the implementation of broadband in Nigeria. Now, the challenge has been that of infrastructure.'

He said  the NCC is already addressing the infrastructural deficit the sense that seven infrastructure companies are going to be licensed, two of them in the next few weeks, to provide the infrastructural requirement that will drive the services. He stated that this is the beginning of the revolution that is going to happen in the next couple of years in the area of broadband deployment.

He said just as it was witnessed in the area of voice segment, the sector is going to witness same in the area of data, as far as broadband is concerned.

He explained that the foundation is going to be laid with the licensing of seven infrastructure companies regionally, starting from Lagos and Northcentral and later the others will follow.
Juwah said this will usher in the era of digital communication, broadband services, era of enhanced business communication in terms of data. He added that telecommunication still remains the best sector in spite of the challenges in the quality of service delivery.

Director, Consumer Affairs Services, Mrs Mariam Biye, said the Commission in partnership with the Consumer Consultative Council (CCC), is working out modalities on how compensation could reach consumers who have been at the receiving ends of poor quality of services from the various service providers.

She said the compensation so far paid by service providers as a result of various sanctions imposed on them are not in the coffers of NCC, but that of the Federal Government.
She said NCC is also working together with service providers to stop unsolicited text messages and unnecessary depletion of the accounts of GSM users by service providers on spurious and unfounded grounds, stressing that NCC had opened consumers' complaint line-622- nationwide for subscribers.

She added that from investigations and some demonstrations recently carried out by service providers, it was discovered that some consumers fell victim of depletion of their accounts due to the products they subscribe to and the type of handset they use.