NCC Denies Involvement in Frequency Band Racketeering

Director International Labour Organisation (ILO), West Africa, Mrs. Sina Thumandiwire, presenting the Labour Crown Award to Mr. Lorenzo Gomez, Glo Divisional Director, Abuja.

THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denied its involvement in frequency racketeering and the alleged sale of a frequency slot belonging to the Nigerian police to a private firm, Open Skys.

In an interview with journalist in Lagos, Head, Media and Public Relations of the NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka said that the story making rounds that the Commission is involoved in such act was not true.

Muoka who are denied the story that the current leadership of the Commission has issued frequencies to Smile Communications without due process said that most people are not aware of the procedure involved in frequency sale.

He explained that “the story in its entirety lacks basic understanding of frequency allocation and its processes involved, resulting in unsubstantiated information capable of misleading the public and industry stakeholders”.

 He stated that “the frequencies allocated to Open Skys and Smile Communications are in two frequency different bands, and followed a due process for similar frequencies at the Commission, and began since 2009”.

 According to him, the frequency spectrum allocated to the Police by the Commission is intact and has not in any way being affected by the allocation stressing that “the Current Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, did not initiate the allocation of the aforesaid frequencies, having resumed in July 2010, while the process began since 2009.

“ Even after resumption at the NCC, Dr. Juwah has strictly followed the due process of issuance of licenses and frequencies. In the case of Open Skys, its allocation process began in 2008 following a Presidential directive to the Commission for allocation of a portion in the 450 MHz  to NIGCOMSAT”.

He went further to stated that “A request, which the Commission’s Board acceded to on the condition that NIGCOMSAT, being a government agency, must seek for private sector partnership before qualifying for such allocation.  Upon compliance and submission of the name of Open Skys, the company applied for the license and frequency in 2009”.

“Note that the use of 450 MHz  for commercial telecommunications was approved by the  National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) on Nov  5, 2004. After this approval, occupants in this band like the police, Shell PDC, Agip, Chevron, and some others, were relocated to specific portions of the band from where they had indiscriminately occupied.

“The Nigerian Police was specifically on 18th of October 2005, approved to be moved to  469.375 – 469.975 MHz / 459.375 – 459.975 MHz of this spectrum. Open Skys, in which NIGCOMSAT has interest, were to pay the police for the relocation cost estimated at N350 Million, which from our records, was complied with”, he said.

Muoka revealed that “Open Skys was thereafter invoiced for the sum of N1.141billion, for 5 years to enable the re-farming of the frequency while it paid the sum of N892,455,010.60 as frequency fee destined for the Federation Account while the balance of  N247,544,989.40 later adjusted to N350 Million would cover the additional cost of replacement of the old radios belonging to the Police since they will not be attuned to the new frequency spectrum, was paid”.

He described the allegation of racketeering with any  frequency belonging to the Police, to and allocation to a private company, as false, saying that currently, the Nigerian Police, Shell, AGIP and others still have allocation on the different portions of the 450MHz Band.

“All the decisions on the above were taken by the Board of the Commission and all the due processes were followed. It is the Commission that also decides which of the available allocation processes as prescribed by the relevant laws, are applied during any allocation of frequencies”, he said.

On the Smile Communications Ltd case,he said that the company was in 2009 awarded a Unified Access Service License (UASL) for ten years, till 30th June 2019, a Private Networks Link, PNL and a Spectrum in the 850 MHz Band for implementation of the licenses, having applied since 2008 adding that “Its applications were processed in line with sections 123 and 33 of the Act and in compliance with our licensing procedures”.

He stated that Smile Communications was licensed to provide broadband multimedia services on the 850 MHz Band nationwide and was assigned 15 MHz spectrum based on Time Division Duplexing (TDD) in the 850 MHz band to provide wireless access services in 2009.

He also revealed that “For its UASL license,  Smile Communications paid N320,250,000.00 on 26th June 2009, for the PNL license, it paid N46,830,000.00 on 26th February 2009, and for its Spectrum License with 10 years validity from July 2009, it paid N2,154,600,000 (Two Billion, One Hundred and Fifty Four Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira which is for the Federation Account, and also paid N718,200,000 for the additional 5 MHz”.