WITH about four years remaining for Nigeria to meet the analogue-to-digital transmission target of 2015, the House of Representatives Committee Members on Communications and MTN Nigeria, have stressed the need for a greater collaboration between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).According to them, the collaboration would ensure the release of more spectrums to achieve digital dividend and enable operators not only to improve telecommunications services, but also deepen its penetration in the country.Speaking in Lagos after an inspection of MTN Nigeria's facilities, the 12-man House committee members on communications, led by the Acting Chairman, Usman Bawa after expressing satisfaction about MTN's facilities at the Ojota Switch centre, stressed the need for operators in the telecommunications sector to invest more in facility upgrades across the country to mitigate the increasing effect of service downtime that has become the order of the day in the country.Besides, achieving digital dividend, according to Bawa, requires greater collaboration between NCC and NBC, which would eventually allow for more spectrum usage in the country and by so doing, improving telecommunications services.While calling on other telecommunications service providers in the country to improve their service offerings through network upgrades, among others, the House Committee's Acting Chairman on Communications further said that the checks on telecommunications services would not be limited to the GSM providers alone, 'We know that there are CDMA operators too and we have also mapped out plans to visit their facilities and see what they are actually doing to improve quality of service in the country. We know that there are challenges, but work is on to ensure that all those challenges are mitigated.'Also, the Corporate Service Executive at MTN, Wale Goodluck stressed the need for NCC and NBC to come together to ensure the digital to analogue transmission target.Goodluck said: 'I think there is a need for greater collaboration between NCC, NBC and National Frequency Management in terms of freeing up the required spectrums to enable us enjoy the benefits of digital dividend. There are spare amounts of work to be done and I think that work has started on that. It is one of the priorities of the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson. We also see it helping to improve quality of service.'On the frequent damages to telecommunications infrastructure, Bawa hinted that the NCC has been told to come up with an Act that will guide telecommunications provider to ensure that their infrastructure are not tampered with.'An Act by the NCC would soon be out that will see to the issue of protection of telecommunications workers and their infrastructure. When this Acts comes up, NCC and the operators would meet to actually see how to harmonise such, which would later be passed to us to for it to become an Act and anybody caught thereafter tampering or vandalising any of the equipment would be dealt with adequately.'On the issue of multiple regulations and taxations that continued to plaque the telecommunications sector, Bawa said: 'NCC is trying to come up with policies that will streamline the issue of multiple taxations. There will be a public hearing on that, especially the issue of taxations. They will need to know what Local government is to collect, State and other government agencies. The GSM, CDMA and others would meet and come up with the way forward.'In addition, a member of the committee, Olumide Osoba also informed that the House Committee members are also working with the ministry of environment to resolve the issue of harassments and multiple taxations.In an exclusive interview with The Guardian in Cape Town, South Africa, last month, the Director of Market Development and Spectrum Policy, Africa and Middle East in Global System for Mobile telecommunications Association (GSMA), Peter Lyons, said aside meeting the 2015 target of analogue-to-digital transmission, for telecommunications operators to improve on quality of service, which has become very bad of late, and expand their reach, government must be prepared to unlock more spectrums for usage.Lyons had said there was need for NBC and NCC to come together for this to be achievable. 'Realising this would require the coming together of NCC and NBC so that more spectrum would be freed, not only to aid digital dividend target but also to ensure quality telecommunications service delivery.
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