Meet the Regulator is one of several initiatives of the Commission which has now been institutionalized and held periodically as a forum of the regulator and segments of the service providers to discuss and clarify issues relating to regulations and compliance in order to enhance regulatory excellence and operational efficiency in the Telecom industry.
Sunday Dare, NCC’s Executive Commissioner (Stakeholder Management) who presented the opening remark on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated that yesterday’s meeting was convened to reflect on a few licensing issues and the regulatory interventions instituted to mitigate some of the challenges in the industry.
“NCC is committed to creating the right environment that enables every service provider in the telecom sector to derive benefits from its business while delivering the right quality of service for consumers” Dare said. he also recalled the NCC strategic vision and statutory mandate: “To be a responsive, world-class Communications Regulatory Organization” - to emphasize NCC’s Commitment to a win-win situation in the industry as Nigeria prepares for new and emerging technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IOT) and Artificial Intelligence.
“The Commission aims to have a compliant industry - an industry where the regulator does not have to penalize and enforce sanctions in the strictest sense of the word” Dare stated and added that this forum will inform, update and engage service providers, as well as take feedback and harness them for the improvement of the industry.
Yetunde Akinloye, Director Legal Services at the Commission who made a presentation on: NCC’s Approach to Regulatory Compliance - the carrot and stick strategy, appealed to the operators to always abide by the terms and conditions of their licenses, regulations, directives and guidelines issued by the Commission. Akinloye reasoned that understanding and compliance of the extant laws, regulations and guidelines by the operators in the sector are central to creating operator - regulator partnership for sustaining the sector and creating the enabling environment for successes in the telecom industry.
Other presentations at the forum which thematically focused on promoting compliance through Dialogue, discoursed regulatory filings, renewal of Licenses, payment of Annual Operating Levies and change of Board Members among others.
The “Meet the Regulator” forum in conception and execution speaks to the last item of the 8-point Agenda unveiled by the present management of the NCC in February 2016.