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FOREIGN OWNED MOBILE NUMBER OPERATORS (MNO-GSM) OPERATORS POISE TO SIEZE CONTROL OF NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC AND PUSH OUT INDIGENOUS OPERATORS (IDA)

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There are indications that all is not well in the Telecommunications Sector as Mobile Number Operators (MNOs) popularly known as GSM Operators, with the notable exception of Glo Mobile, appear to be moving to kill of all indigenous Nigeria home grown operators in the Market. The bone of contention at this time has to do with termination international in-bound traffic to Nigeria, which is a very lucrative segment of the market and the channel through which the huge population of Nigerians in diaspora are able to talk to their loved ones in Nigeria.

At present the foreign controlled MNOs controls 99.5% of traffic coming to their networks but they are still not satisfied and want 100% of the traffic terminated on their networks and they appear to be desperate and determined to achieve this by any means possible. Before these companies came on-board in Nigeria in the year 2002, NITEL, had a monopoly of the lucrative international circuit being the only company that had an international gateway because it was the National Carrier at the time. However, the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC decided to the chagrin of NITEL at the time to liberalise international traffic and thus granted international gateway to other players. At that point NITEL argued against the move citing National Security and Public Safety concerns and insisted that giving international traffic gateway to unknown foreign owned companies was not a good idea. NITEL spokespersons at that time argued in vain that international communications of Government Officials could easily be intercepted and monitored to the detriment of the country.

However, NCC argued that Government Officials would use secure lines and would have a choice of using local indigenous Nigerian owned Gateway Operators. This was why not only the foreign owned MNO-GSM Operators would control the market. Thus the market was liberalised and enabled participation of not only the foreign owned but also the local indigenous networks. This enabled the MTNs, AIRTEL and ETISALAT to reap billions of dollars in revenue and out pace and outgrown NITEL and other local operators, who were restricted to fixed line market because of their popular mobile market. In a twist of fate it is now these foreign owned MNO-GSM that are now trying to push the local indigenous operators know as International Data Access Operators (IDAs) out of the market. This will leave only Glo Mobile a subsidiary of Globacom as the only indigenous operator in the market if care is not taken. Globacom being the second national carrier and an indigenously owned company is not in support of the foreign owned MNO-GSM operatos, which is natural being a fully Nigerian company that has interest in National Security and Safety. In fact ordinarily only Globacom being a National Carrier should have been the company entitled to International Gateway Licence.

Over the years security agencies particularly the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) particularly under the likes of General Aliyu Gusau, 1999-2006 and 2010, Owoye Andrew Azazi and to some extent Sambo Dasuki have expressed concern over interception of Nigerian international and Government traffic, in addition to concerns about need for lawful interception of traffic generally for security purposes. However, NCC has always asserted its independence as the regulator of telecommunications resisted the calls return the country to a single gateway controlled by a Government Agency since NITEL had also been privatised. The ONSA however, was able to develop the lawful interception protocol within the legal framework of the Cybercrimes Act.

The agenda of the foreign owned operators seems to have taken a big boost when NCC acceded to their request for indigenous operators to pay them in dollars for termination of calls on their networks contrary to the Central Bank Act and Policy against dollarization of Nigerian Economy. Dollarisation of the economy is one of the many ways foreign companies in Nigeria are able to by-pass Nigerian Taxation and also bypass CBN to repatriate their funds out of Nigeria without the knowledge of Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS. Recently MTN for example has been at loggerheads with FIRS over tax evasion by MTN. In spite of the boast by the company secretary of MTN, Uto Ukpanam to be Nigeria’s biggest tax payer and claim to have paid 618.7 Billion Naira in taxes, (ARISE NEWS Article “Question Mount Over MTN Nigeria’s Payment of N618.7bn Taxes to FIRS), the company only recently made a U-turn and that it only made a payment of 291.67 billion in 2021.

The indigenously owned IDA operators are however, resisting the decision of NCC and among issues raised is the fact that such a directive would contravene the CBN Act and CBN policy on dollarization. Arising out of a meeting of Stakeholders of International Traffic circuits arranged by NCC and held at the Colonade, Ikoyi, many of the IDA operators are unhappy about the outcome of the meeting. One of the operators speaking under the guise of anonymity to avoid the wrath of particularly MTN, which he accused of blocking the interconnection of operator that opposes it, stated that they have to pay VAT, Excise Duty and other associated international transfer charges if they have to pay MTN in dollars. Other IDA operator also claim their experiencing constricted international circuits with MTN for their resistance to MTN. They claim MTN already controls 99.5% of the traffic to its network yet greedily does not want the IDA to even enjoy 0.5% of the traffic in peace. They claim MTN and Airtel in particular have set up off shore Global Connect companies to monopolise all international traffic on their networks and it would make it easier to bypass Nigerian financial and tax regulators if care is not taking.

Clearly, the Nigerian Regulars all have their job cut out for them. The ONSA needs to wade into the matter and secure Nigeria’s international communications, while the NCC has to ensure that the international circuit market does not become a monopoly or an oligopoly of foreign control. The FIRS must continue to doggedly ensure that these companies pay their fair share of taxes, while CBN must defend the Naira and oppose any contravention of its Acts to ensure that Naira remains the only legal tender of the Nigerian economy.

A Public Analyst, Adewunmi Tobiloba writes from Lagos

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