Highs and lows of the telecoms industry in 2017

The year 2017 was not too spectacular for the telecoms industry in Nigeria due in part to the economic down turn in the country, but not without so many intrigues, hues and all there that can be. One thing that was so clear, however, was that industry stakeholders were more than willing to make the industry work and move forward as they wont to do.

One saga that stood out in the negative was the Etisalat Nigeria’s problem, in which the parent company pulled out of the telco company due to a protracted debt owed a consortium of banks.

Etisalat had obtained a $1.2 billion (N377.4 billion) syndicated loan in 2013, from a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks, including Access Bank, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Following the collapse of negotiations over the debt with the banks, Mubadala Development Company, the majority shareholder in the company, dropped a hint on June 15, 2017, of its decision to withdraw its shareholding from the company.

Mubadala’s decision was later announced on June 20, 2017, when Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, its parent company, disclosed in a filing with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

A new name and management headed by Mr Boye Olusanya was later put in place and this necessitated a new name in 9Mobile. But this happened to be a stop gap as it was revealed much later that a buyer was required to take over the company. This paved the way for industry competitors like Airtel, Globacom and others like Smile Communications, Helios Towers and Teleology Holdings bidding to take over the company.

The sale was slated for the end of December last year but due to one thing or the other, the sale has been rescheduled for this year.

This and one other development  seemed to have eclipsed the MTN fine scandal which had been on the front burner since the foremost telco was fined  N1.04 trillion in October 2015 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its failure to disconnect 5.2 million improperly registered  lines within the prescribed deadline.  After much plea on the part of MTN management for a reduction in the fine, it was subsequently reduced by 25 per cent to N780 billion, an amount that MTN considered still inimical to the survival of its telecoms business.

MTN Nigeria subsequently sought judicial determination as a means of protecting the local ecosystems valued and supported by MTN’s business, but later withdrew the case and continued with its plea bargain, which eventually led to further reduction of the fine to N330 billion and the payment spread in six tranches. And since MTN returned to profit-making last year, the issue seemed to have taken the back burner.

The other bright spot in the industry was the landmark initiative of the NCC, which was tagged, ‘2017: Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer’.

The twin launch of the campaign in Abuja on March 15 and Lagos on May 17, 2017 by the NCC stood out as defining moments in the history of the nation’s telecom. The concept of making the consumer the focal point of attention last year by the regulator further indexes much held notion that NCC is by far the most consumer-centric public agency in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta said the campaign was a fallout of his 8-point agenda and seeks to ensure that the consumer enjoys a customer experience that is enhanced and consistent in time and quality.

The real idea behind the initiative was for subscribers to activate the Do-Not-Disturb short code using the 2442 facility and using NCC’s 622 toll-free lines in the same period to stop the nuisance of operators’ incessant unsolicited calls and text messages. As of November last year, the NCC announced that more than ten million subscribers had activated the Do-Not-Disturb code and got respite.

In all, the year 2017 may not have been a very cozy one for both stakeholders, customers and the regulator, yet one must still count the blessings with the hope that the New Year would usher a more prosperous industry for everyone.