PRINT MEDIA REVIEW

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022

NCC STORIES
Banks face angry customers as network glitches mar holidays
As early as 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, banking premises around Lagos, the financial
hub of the country, were jam-packed with customers waiting impatiently to register
complaints of sundry failed transactions during the Christmas holidays…...The
quartet of MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile, including the regulator – the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) – has not been spared for not
sanctioning the service providers’ poor quality.
The Guardian, Pp. 1 & 6
https://guardian.ng/news/banks-face-angry-customers-as-network-glitches-mar-
holidays/

Debts: Telcos Seek NCC’s Approval to Disconnect Banks

Telecommunication operators have reached out to the Nigerian Communications
Commission for approval to phase out the Unstructured Supplementary Service
Data offered to banks due to over N80bn. Speaking with the Punch on Thursday,
the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga
Adebayo, said that the operators had sought regulatory approval to implement
partial removal of the USSD services. He noted that the disconnection would be
done in batches, starting with the highest debtor immediately after they get
approval.
The Punch P.21
https://punchng.com/debts-telcos-seek-ncc-approval-to-disconnect-banks/
#:~:text=Kindly%20share%20this%20story%3A,N80bn%2C%20The%20PUNCH
%20has%20learnt.

INDUSTRY STORIES

Major Concerns in NITDA Amendment Bill 2022

The proposed amendment to Act establishing the National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA) for advancement of information technology
development in the country, is long overdue. The bill that established NITDA was
passed and signed to into law in 2007 for the regulating and development of
information technology in Nigeria however the legacy Act could no longer address
the new developments in information technology space, because of changes that
had occurred in the IT sector ever since. Therefore, major stakeholders backed the
National Assembly on the moves to repeal the Act to meet the present and future
requirements for IT industry.
https://techeconomy.ng/major-concerns-in-nitda-amendment-bill-2022/

NITDA Bill 2022: FG widens Tax net to IT, eComemrce, Fintefch, Gaming
firms
The Federal Government is to impose new taxes on IT, fintech, e-commerce and
several tech-driven businesses if the NITDA Bill 2022 seeking to repeal the
stabling law of the National Information technology development Agency
(NITDA) passes, technology Times can confirm. The Draft NITDA Bill 2022 is
seeking to repeal the NITDA Act No. 28, 20227, which will significantly expand
the powers of the Federal IT agency to regulate information technology (IT) and
the digital economy in Nigeria.
https://technologytimes.ng/nitda-bill-2022-widens-tax-net-it-fintech/

‘More Bandwidth needed for Fast-evolving Networks’

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said that demand for
higher-capacity networks keeps rising with no end in sight specifically, ITU,,
which disclosed this, noted that as people communicate in high-definition video
and gain ever more immersive experiences with virtual reality and cloud gaming,
the need for more bandwidth keeps growing, adding that machines, too, rely on
high-speed, low-latency connectivity, especially with increasingly automated
industrial processes.
The Guardian P.18
https://guardian.ng/business-services/more-bandwidth-needed-for-fast-
evolving-networks/
Minister honour winners of Huawei national ICT competition
The Honorable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali
Ibrahim (Pantami), has awarded 35 individuals for their excellence in the field of
Information and Communication Technology.
Vanguard, P. 19
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/12/minister-honour-winners-of-huawei-
national-ict-competition/
Rollout of 5G, Brain Drain Headline 2022 Activities in ICT Sector
The ICT sector has no doubt contributed immensely to the sustainability of the
Nigerian economy, serving as a key catalyst in driving productivity in all sectors of
the economy, including Agriculture, Education, Manufacturing and Healthcare.
This has enabled the ICT sector to contribute 18.44% to Nigeria’s real Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022, surpassing the
contributions of the fourth quarter in 2021 15.21%.
Leadership P.24