Nigeria: March of Consolidation in the telecom industry

Federal Ministry of ICT emerges soon

There are indications that work has been completed on the study document which dots the i’s and crosses the t’s on Nigerian government’s plan to consolidate the information and communications technology industry into a Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. The 26-man study group which government appointed in 2006 to study the benefits and implications of such industry merger is reported to have completed its work and submitted a report.

 Minister of State for Information and Communications Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande confirmed this at the recent Forum on Local Content Development held in Lagos under the auspices of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON.

 Although the merger of the Ministries of Communications and Information had since been announced, it was a directive of the Federal Executive Council ahead of the formal integration of the decision into the proper working framework of government. It was not clear what exigencies made government go ahead with the announcement at the time it did late 2006. Analysts believe that by the time it is over, a few parastatals, agencies and commissions may have to relocate to different Ministries for supervisory control to make the consolidation meaningful.

 Cell Phones now allowed on Airplanes in Europe
But on conditions

 The European Union has opened the way for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk, text or send e-mails on planes throughout Europe's airspace.  This will however be limited to when the aircraft is at cruising level or at least not below 10,000ft above ground. It will also not be allowed when taking off or during landing.

 With this, airlines may make additional income from onboard mobile services and it may even become an issue for measuring competitive edge in air services. How do you get used to being banned from working once you are on a long distance flight. In-flight mobile phone services can be a very interesting new service especially for those business travelers who need to be ready to communicate wherever they are.

 The EU is naturally worried about exploitative pricing and it is expected to issue directives on rates for services so as to make them reasonable if things don’t just sort themselves out.

 Several airlines are known to have commenced trial of in-flight mobile phone services in the last few days after the EU announcement.

Boon to Starcomms ONE subscribers

Starcomms subscribers can now experience true convenience with starcomms hourly internet subscription renewal packages available to existing subscribers. Under the scheme, 100 hours can be spread over 30 days at N6,500 or 250 hours over 90 days forN15,000 with the starcomms broadband internet renewal packages. The way to do it is to approach any starcomms shop in the vicinity.

ITU speaks on Nigeria and NCC

The real secret behind how Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has recorded its international recognition for credible regulation was somehow revealed by the visiting Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, over the weekend. Dr Hamadoun Toure, told the audience at a book launch in Lagos that it was usual   for NCC to seek support of ITU in several of its affairs. ‘My friend Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, has usually called us to send in expertise to observe and support the processes through which the Commission takes its decisions. A guy who does that is not likely to get it wrong’.

 Dr. Toure an African of Malian extraction and the first African to be Secretary General of the ITU said he feels proud to be reminded that Nigeria being the largest telecommunications market in Africa and representing the highest concentration of black people in the world has made a name for itself in telecommunication regulation.

The 'Ndukwe Phenomenon' Unveiled

A book which captures the professional life of Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission has been written. Titled ‘Ndukwe &Telecom Regulation: A Walk In Tandem’ the book is a portrait which unveils the Ndukwe phenomenon in the sense that it demonstrates that Ndukwe was not a mere happenstance in the Nigerian telecommunications environment but a man who was destined to lead a revolutionary transformation and uplifting of the industry.

The Author, Mr. Aaron Ukodie, himself an authoritative writer of the telecommunications industry uses several facts to demonstrate various positions he takes in capturing the remarkable work and achievements of his subject in over 25 years of Ernest Ndukwe’s professional journey.

The author claims that there are a few who are in the mode of Ndukwe in a country which is in short supply of noble models in every area of her national life. He insists, however, that "even the few individuals in this category are most of the time unsung and the virtues which they represent not put up in the public domain for the young ones to emulate and also serve to challenge even their contemporaries who walk in ignoble paths,"

The book will be launched on Saturday April 12, 2008 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos by the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Dr Hammadoun Toure.
 

NCC releases Reports of public enquiry

In deference to requirement of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has published, for public information, the reports of enquires into four aspects of industry regulations under which the law requires it to hold a public enquiry before issuing guidelines.

The reports deal on:

Draft Guidelines for Consultations with the stakeholders and members of the public
Draft Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service (ISP).
Draft Numbering Regulations
Draft Type Approval Regulations and Type Approval Guidelines

The draft guidelines were published on the Commission’s website for comments from operators, stakeholders and members of the general public in December 2007.

The notice of the public inquiry was advertised in National Dailies for interested stakeholders and members of the public to submit comments and observations on the draft Guidelines to the Commission.

An Inquiry took place on the 29th of January 2008 at the Conference Hall, Nigerian Communications Commission, Abuja. It is on the Inquiry that the Commission has now published the reports.

To read the full reports please click on them as follows

Report of the Public Inquiry on Consultation Guidelines
Report of the Public Inquiry on the Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service (ISP)
Report of the Public Inquiry on Numbering Regulations
Report of the Public Inquiry on Type Approval Regulations and Type Approval Guidelines

 

CyberschuulNews 280

Quality of Service Forum holds in Abuja.

The 2nd Public Forum on quality of service in the Nigerian telecommunications industry will hold on April 1, 2008, at the Sheraton Hotels, Abuja.

Host Agency NCC plans to appraise the current status of the quality of service in the network and the impact made by several measures so far taken to address the issue; identify specific challenges and advance solutions.

The Quality of Service Working Group, a group of experts drawn from different sections of the telecoms industry, including the regulator, the operators and representatives of consumers, will present its report at the forum.

CEO’s of the GSM operators; the Nigerian police, industry associations, and consumer rights groups will also make presentations while the new industry key performance indicators will be unveiled by the NCC.
 

Globacom continues Fibre-ringing of Nigeria

Recent reports indicate that the Owerri-Onitsha and Onitsha-Awka fibre transmission spurs have been completed by Globacom, Nigeria’s Second National Operator. They extend the major backbone which the operator has been constructing in the past few years across the country. Those announced to have been completed earlier include Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan, Lagos-Ijebuode-Ore-Benin-Sapele-Warri-Kaima-Port-Harcourt, Port-Harcourt-Aba-Owerri-Enugu, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano and Abuja-Minna routes.

The information is short on capacities of the routes.

Globscom’s fibre is one the several projects which are potential broadband backbone infrastructure for the pan-African communication network. A similar project which NITEL, Nigeria’s First National Operator, installed in the nineties are known to have suffered several tragedies occasioned by privatization induced setbacks and inability of the rapidly changing management of the company to optimize such infrastructural assets. Regrettably successive administrations virtually moved the infrastructure from stress to distress.
 

Motorola to split into two companies

For dwindling fortunes of its handsets wing and to contend with shareholders complaints, Chicago based Motorola, has announced intention to split into two firms to give its mobile phone handsets sector a chance to grow under another management.

This is coming few weeks after there was speculation that Motorola might be going into joint venture with Nortel Networks on their wireless infrastructure units to forge better business maneuvers.

Motorola used to place second, closely behind Nokia of Finland, in cell phone sales  but in recent time, Samsung took the second position and the margin i said to be widening.

The company and its shareholders hold the view that the creation of the two independent publicly traded companies will provide improved management focus and a capital structure that is more focused to the individual business needs of handsets business and home and networks business.

If the plan goes through, the two companies would have effectively emerged by 2009.
 

NATCOMS queries NCC on exclusion of GLO from sanction

The Executive Council of National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, NATCOMS, rose from a meeting on March 25, 2008 with  questions directed at the Nigerian Communications Commission why it did not include Globacom in its direction that two mobile operators compensate their subscribers. 

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the Association commends Nigerian judiciary for bringing ‘hope to the Nigerian consumer and succor to the helpless who has been paying for poor quality service’ and calls on the NCC to ensure that the Quality of Service Group which the Commission established in 2007 should conclude its assignment before the end of April, 2008.  

It praises Visafone, Starcomms, Reltel, Mulitilinks and Celtel for lowering the cost of acquiring new mobile phones to as cheap as N2,000, N3,000 and N4,000 and MTN for being the only Network in Nigeria that gives subscribers on their network free night calls every night since last year.

BPE starts re-sale ritual, and
There goes another round of a scramble for NITEL 

Newspapers reported lavishly early in the week that the National Privatisation Council has given assent to Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, to commence a new process for re-sale of NITEL. To put it more blankly, BPE is to search for a core investor which really is what has always happened in the privatisation process of NITEL. This will be the fourth re-start of such a process since the privatisation of NITEL started in 2000. 

By earlier pronouncements, government has said it would find a core investor with requisite focus, technical expertise, managerial experience and financial capacity to take controlling shares in NITEL/M-tel. 

With this, a new race has started and we can forecast what may eventually happen. One politician, one civil servant, and one other lesser Nigerian will soon take a trip overseas, spend Nigeria’s money in the process, source for two or three hungry white guys who will pull along another one or two. They will eventually put out a name which will sound better than p-e-n-t-a-s-c-o-p-e and before we know it, a ‘core investor’ will emerge and the game goes round and round. By the time we return to this same stage, it will be 2011.

Point relay is, no investor with the credentials stated above will come to take a 51% [or 65%] of a government owned company except one that is looking for a way to commit economic suicide.  It is good theory to write all those fine prescriptions for class work but the reality is that a player that is focused, competent, technically and financially does not need government as accomplice to play in this type of industry. 

The idea of privatising NITEL was first mooted in 1987 when at a conference at Durbar Hotel Lagos, 21 of the 24 papers presented canvassed for liberalisation of the telecom industry and privatisation of the then two-year-old NITEL. It was eventually agreed that liberalisation should precede privatisation of NITEL and after a long boring wait, the industry was liberalised in 1993. The privatisation of NITEL which never seized to be on the front burner was eventually made an objective of government in 1999.  

But a snag set in.  

Observers had thought the privatisation agency was dumb and inefficient until when under-current information revealed that in actual fact the guy at the top of government had his eyes on cornering NITEL for himself. All the processes that happened since then till today had wobbled in the face of the scheme to make NITEL go his way. 

First, it was observed that there was a scheme to devalue NITEL. The boss of privatisation used his mouth as a major tool to do this and he eventually superintended an incompetent process which made the sale go a pre-determined course. From IILL through Pentascope  to Transcorp, all were but schemes which baffled Nigerians but which, really, were pre-planned for an unchanging purpose. 

One of the things that worry some people now is about the current value of NITEL. They say it has been so devalued that it is worth almost nothing today. Many do not know that in this business what constitutes the value of such key commonwealth is not directly related to an aggregate of its assets and liabilities. What counts is the value of the license the company is wielding. And believe it, NITEL as at today is worth $2 billion while its right-of-way value may well be put at another $0.5billion. At $2.5billion NITEL will be a good buy for an appropriate investor. This was true in 1999 and it is still true today. They key word here is 'appropriate'.

NITEL is Nigeria's First National Operator and that tells the entire story. The worth of that license is not estimated on the strength of its physical infrastructure, technical equipment, estate properties, staff or whatever. It is what the license is capable of delivering, long term, that counts. 

Whoever wants to buy NITEL may not need its equipment, which is outdated, nor its physical properties which are not strategic,  nor its staff which will cost more to retrain and refocus than to hire new hands nor any of those things which our friends at BPE put value on to come to a figure. Their figure in 2001 tallied almost with ours and we had thought we should allow them to play on and see how it would play out. But you don’t buy a license [which is what NITEL means in technical terms] and then go for 99%. It has to be 100% to make sense. And that is the crux of the matter.

That we always hang on to this core investor syndrome is to say we like to eat our cake and still have it. It is not done because telecommunications investment is not about patriotism. It is about making money. Using money to make money! The idea of a government owned NITEL is antiquated and the earlier it is let gone the better. 

Prof A. U Odinma, the Consultant who wrote the report of House of Rep's Investigation into circumstances surrounding the appointment of Pentascope as Management Consultants and other related matters in 2005, in frustration, wrote on page 35 of the Report that ''...I must say that if I knew prior to now what I have gathered during the course of this enquiry, I would have discouraged the core investor’s approach long before now..'

By the way, who does not know that government has 35% of every business in the land even when such businesses are owned 100% by their private investors? Or how do you explain the position of somebody who takes 35% of your pre-profit as Tax? What happens when such body now holds even 1% of the investment? You have had it if the government is the type we have been recycling in Nigeria. 

A government that sends EFCC after you if you don’t play its ball is not one you co-share a strategic company with except where the investment resource in the first place was a stolen one. 

The search for a core investor is a wild goose chase which will end us nowhere. What is different today is that Ali-baba is off-the-field but his forty thieves are still on the prowl.

see www.cyberschuulnews.com for more

Proposed Changes to Canadian Immigration Laws:
Implications for Applicants

On March 14, 2008 Canada's Conservative government tabled a bill that proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Under the current law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is required to assess every Permanent Resident application received at a visa office, in a particular immigration category, on a "first come, first served" basis. The proposed legislative change provides the Immigration Minister with the authority to regulate the backlog of applicants. It allows CIC to select among the new applications received and choose those that it determines are best suited for Canada's labour market needs.

If the bill passes, the Immigration Minister would have to authority to set annual limits on the number of applicants under certain categories of Canadian immigration. New Canadian immigration applications would be handled at the discretion of the Immigration Minister; some will be processed quickly, others will be held at the visa office for processing at a later date, and others will be returned to the applicant along with government processing fees.

The purpose of this amendment to the IRPA is to remedy the growing backlog of Canadian immigration applications that has forced processing times to rise by 20 per cent since 2004. Should the bill pass, it would be good news to applicants who are currently in the queue waiting for their visas to be processed. Budget 2008's $22 million over the next two years to implement this modernization of the immigration system, is aimed at reducing wait times and improving service. By reducing the backlog, Canada is working towards the goal of a "just-in-time" immigration system to expedite skilled immigrant applications and transition newcomers to the Canadian workforce quickly.

Nevertheless, a limit on the number of new immigration applications is cause for concern given Canada's declining birthrate, aging population, and labour shortages. Canada's other political parties in the House of Commons are critical of the proposal. The Conservative party heads a minority government and will need the support of one of Canada's other political parties to pass this bill and put the amendments to the IRPA into force. The Conservatives have included the bill in the 2008 federal budget, making it a confidence matter. If the House of Commons votes against it, the current government would fall, triggering an election.

The Immigration Minister would not say whether she intends to use the new power to limit new immigration applications, stating that the budget bill will have to pass before any announcements will be made. At present, Canadian Immigration Visa Offices around the world continue to accept new immigration applications in all categories. CIC reiterates that Canada remains open to immigration and that the proposed amendments should not deter good candidates from applying at this time. The current passmark of 67 points, under the Federal Skilled Worker category, would not be affected by the proposed amendments.

The proposed legislation, if passed in its present form, will apply to all applications received at a visa office on or after February 27, 2008.

This text is taken from http://www.canadavisa.com