Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nigerian
Telecommunications
Law Handbook
A Compilation of the Nigerian
Telecommunications Law,
Regulations and Guidelines
ii
iii
Nigerian
Telecommunications
Law Handbook
A Compilation of the Nigerian
Telecommunications Law,
Regulations and Guidelines
D. A. Ariyoosu
iv
D. A. ARIYOOSU
ISBN: 978-9913-633-48-2
Published by
Dedication
Preface
Contents
Dedication v
Preface vi
Part One
Acts
2
3
Financial Provisions
17. 1. The Commission shall establish and maintain a fund
from which all expenditures incurred by the
Commission shall be defrayed.
2. The Fund shall comprise funds derived from but not
limited to the following sources:
(a) such monies as may be appropriated to the
Commission from time to time by the National
Assembly ;
(b) subject to subsection (3) of this section, fees
charged by the Commission under this Act or its
subsidiary legislation or under any licence
issued pursuant to this Act ;
(c) gifts, loans, grants, aids, etc. ; and
(d) all other assets that may from time to time accrue
to the Commission.
3. The Commission shall pay all monies accruing from
the sale of spectrum under Part 1 of Chapter VIII into
the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
18. 1. The Commission may, with the consent of, or in
accordance with the general authority given by the
Minister of Finance, borrow such sums of money as the
Commission may require in the exercise of its functions
under this Act or its subsidiary legislation.
2. The Commission may accept gifts or grants of money
or aids or other property from national, bilateral and
multi-lateral organisations and upon such terms and
conditions, if any, as may be agreed upon between the
donor and the Commission provided that such gifts are
not inconsistent with the objectives and functions of the
Commission under this Act.
19. 1. The Commission shall not later than 30th September in
each financial year prepare and present to the National
Assembly through the President for approval, a
statement of estimated income and expenditure for the
following financial year.
16
Licence Conditions
34. 1. The Commission may, from time to time, make written
declarations that an individual licence, or a
classification of individual licences, or a class licence is
subject to such terms and conditions, or enjoys such
benefits, as the Commission deems fit.
2. Any declaration on the conditions of licence shall be
consistent with the objects and provisions of this Act
which are relevant to the particular undertaking, matter
or activity.
23
and such time period shall not be less than 14 days from
the date of the notice.
5. The affected licensee may, within the time period
specified in the notice, submit a written submission and
the Commission shall consider the submission in
making its final determination and declaration on the
suspension or revocation of the individual licence.
6. Subject to subsections (4) and (5) of this section, the
suspension or revocation of an individual licence shall
take effect on the expiration of 30 days from the date on
which the notice of the Commission’s declaration under
subsection (3) of this section in respect of the suspension
or revocation is served on the licensee.
7. Where the suspension or revocation of an individual
licence has taken effect, the Commission shall, as soon
as practicable, cause the suspension or cancellation to
be published in at least one national daily newspaper.
8. Any delay or failure to publish the notice of suspension
or revocation shall not in any manner affect the validity
of the suspension or revocation.
46. 1. In the event of the suspension of a licence, the
Commission shall determine and communicate to the
licensee the duration of the suspension and the penalties
that shall be attendant therefor which may include but
shall not be limited to withdrawal of assigned spectrum
allocation.
2. In determining the duration of and penalties consequent
upon suspension of a licence, the Commission shall take
into consideration, amongst other factors, the gravity
of the breach that necessitated the suspension and any
mitigating circumstances or conduct thereof.
47. 1. Where the revocation of an individual licence under
section 45 of this Act or the surrender of an individual
licence under section 44 hereof, has taken effect, or
where the individual licence has expired, the licensee
shallimmediately lose the right to provide any service
29
(c) the date of the decision, but not the terms and
conditions of the decision.
78. 1. The decision of the Commission shall be binding on the
parties and the Commission may direct a party to a
dispute to abide by the decision of the Commission in
that dispute.
2. A decision made by the Commission under this Part may
be enforced by the Court as if the decision is a judgment
of such Court provided that the Commission has issued
a certificate to the complainant for leave to proceed to
the Court for the enforcement of the decision.
3. No certificate under subsection (2) of this section is required
if an action is taken by the Commission under this
section.
Registration of Agreements
79. 1. A party to a written agreement who is subject to this
Act shall apply to the Commission for the registration
of the Agreement, if this Act or its subsidiary legislation
requires such registration.
2. The Commission shall register the written agreement if
the Commission is satisfied that the agreement is
consistent with :
(a) the objects of this Act ;
(b) any relevant instrument under this Act ; and
(c) any relevant provisions of this Act or its
subsidiary legislation.
80. 1. The Commission shall maintain a register of all
agreements required to be registered under this Act, in
accordance with Part V of this Chapter.
2. the register shall contain ;
(a) the names of the parties to the agreement,
(b) a general description of the matter pertaining to
the agreement, and
(c) the date of the agreement, but not the terms and
conditions of the agreement.
45
Undertakings
81. 1. A person may provide an undertaking to the
Commission regarding any matter for which this Act
makes express provision.
2. An undertaking provided by a person under subsection
(1) shall set out the terms and conditions of the
undertaking and may include the effective date of the
undertaking or the date of its expiry.
82. 1. Subject to section 84 of this Act, all undertakings given
by any person to the Commission in any circumstance
whatsoever shall be deemed as duly registered and
shall remain valid and enforceable at all times.
2. The Commission shall maintain a register of all existing
undertakings, in accordance with Part V of this Chapter.
83. 1. The Commission may make and publish rules in respect
of undertakings and the rules shall bind the party
making the undertakings and all other persons relying
on such undertakings as if they were respectively
signed by each person and contained agreements on
the part of each person for himself and for his successors
to observe all the provisions of the rules.
2. The Commission may direct a person referred to in
subsection (1) of this Section to comply with the rules
made under subsection (1) of this section and any
registered undertakings issued under this Part.
84. A person providing an undertaking may apply to
withdraw the undertaking at any time by notifying the
Commission in writing and the undertaking shall only
be withdrawn upon such terms and subject to such
conditions as the Commission may specify.
85. The Commission or a directly affected person may
apply to a court for the enforcement of an undertaking
against the person providing the undertaking if an
undertaking has not been complied with.
46
Review of Decisions
86. 1. A person who is aggrieved or whose interest is-
adversely affected by any decision of the Commission
made pursuant to the exercise of the powers and
functions under this Act or its subsidiary legislation
(“aggrieved person”) may request in writing to the
Commission for a statement of the reasons for the
decision.
2. The Commission shall, upon such written request by
an aggrieved person, provide a copy of a statement of
reasons for the decision and any relevant information
taken into account in making the decision.
3. The Commission is not required to publish, or to
disclose to the aggrieved person, a statement of reasons
or a part of a statement of reasons if the publication or
disclosure would:
(a) disclose a matter that is, in the opinion of the
Commission, of a confidential character ;
(b) be likely to prejudice the fair trial of a person ;
or Undertakings.
(c) involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal
information about any individual (including a
deceased person).
4. In this Chapter, “decision” includes any action, order,
report, direction.
87. 1. An aggrieved person may at any time within but not
later than 30 days after the date of receipt of the
Commission’s statement of reasons specified in section
86(2) of this Act request the Commission in writing for
a review of the Commission’s decision and specify
therein the reasons and basis for his request.
2. Subject to subsection (4) of this section, upon receipt of
the aggrieved person’s written submissions the
Commission shall meet to review its decision taking
into consideration the submissions of the aggrieved
person under subsection (1) of this section.
47
General
Installation of Network Facilities, Access to Network Facilities
135. Licensees under this Act may require approvals of the
State Government, Local Government or other relevant
authority for installation, placing, laying or maintenance
of any network facilities on, through, under or across
any land and it shall be the responsibility of such
licensees to obtain such approvals.
136. 1. A licensee shall, in installing its network facilities, take
all reasonable steps to ensure that he causes as little
detriment and inconvenience, and does as little damage,
as is practicable.
2. If a licensee engages in an activity under this Part in
relation to any land, the provider shall take all
reasonable steps to restore the land to a condition that
is similar to its condition before the activity began.
3. All licensees shall, in connection with the installation
of their respective network facilities, take all reasonable
steps to:
(a) act in accordance with good engineering
practice;
(b) protect the safety of persons and property ;
(c) ensure that the activity interferes as little as
practicable with:
(i) the operations of a public utility ;
(ii) public roads and paths ;
(iii) the movement of traffic ; and
(iv) the use of land ; and
(d) protect the environment.
4. All licensees shall take all reasonable efforts to enter
into respective agreements with public utilities that
make provision for the manner in which the licensees
will engage in activities that are:
(a) covered by this Part ; and
(b) likely to affect the operations of the utility.
74
Explanatory Memorandum
This Act provides, amongst other things, for the:
(a) repeal of the Nigerian Communications Commission
Act 1992 as amended ;
(b) reform of the Nigerian Communications Commission
as an independent regulatory body for the
Communications Sub-sector ;
(c) establishment of the National Frequency Management
Council ; and
(d) establishment of the Universal Service Fund.
94
95
Part Two
Regulations
96
97
2
Annual Operating
Levy Regulations, 2014
DR EUGENE JUWAH
Executive Vice Chairman
Nigerian Communications Commission
108
Final Provisions
Enttry into Force and Revision
1. This Regulation shall enter into force upon its signature
and shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all ECOWAS Member States.
2. It shall be revised four years after the Regulation has
entered into force.
Publication
1. This Regulation shall be published by the ECOWAS
Commission in the Official Journal of the Community
within thirty (30) days of the date of Signing by the Chair
of the Council of Ministers.
2. Itshall also be published by each Member States in its
National Gazette within thirty (30) days of notification
by the Commission.
4
Competition Practices
Regulations, 2007
prevent interconnection or
interpretability with a network or system
of a competing Licensee ;
(iv) failing to make available to competing
Licensees on a timely basis, technical
specifications, information about
essential facilities, or other commercially
relevant information which is required
by such competing Licensees to provide
communications services and which is
not available from other sources ; and
(v) using information obtained from
competing Licensees, for purposes
related to interconnection or the supply
of communications facilities or services
by the Licensee in question, to compete
with such competing Licensees ; and
(j) any failure by a Licensee to comply with
any decision, rule, direction or guideline
issued by the Commission, regarding
either prohibited or required
competitive practices.
9. The Commission may, from time to time, specify other
conduct or practices that shall be deemed to result in
substantial lessening of competition, including those
that arise pursuant to Part III of these Regulations.
10. In reviewing conduct to determine whether it
constitutes substantial lessening of competition, the
Commission shall follow the procedures described in
the Schedule to these Regulations.
Anti-competitive Agreements and Practices
11. The provision of section 91(3) of the Act prohibits
Licensees from entering into agreements or
arrangements which provide for rate fixing, market
sharing, or any boycotting of a competitor, supplier or
Licensee, while section 91(4), prohibits Licensees from
128
Procedures
In determining, whether conduct constitutes a substantial
lessening of competition, pursuant in Sections 91(1) or 92(4) of
the Act or a Licensee is in a dominant position pursuant to
Section 92 (1) of the Act, or a Licensee is otherwise acting
contrary to these Regulations, the Commission shall follow
the procedures set out in this Schedule or such other
procedures specific, as are identified in any notice issued by
the Commission and these procedures are intended to
supplement, but are subject to the procedural requirements
of Chapter V of the Act.
Proceedings Commenced by Application from an Interested
Party
1. An interested party, that is, a complainant that wants
the Commission to investigate a competition related
complaint or to take related action against a Licensee
shall :
(a) submit a written request (a “Request for
Investigation”) to the Commission and the
Complainant shall deliver a copy of the Request
for Investigation to the other party (the
“Responding Party”) on the same day that the
request is submitted to the Commission ;
(b) in its Request for Investigation, summarize the
nature of the complaint and the desired outcome,
including a summary of all relevant events or
circumstances and any related correspondence
or other supporting materials.
2. The Responding Party shall have ten (10) days, from
the day on which the Request for Investigation is
delivered by the Complainant, to provide its comments
if any, on why the Commission should not investigate
or otherwise respond to the complaint (“Comments”)
and the Responding Party shall deliver a copy of the
Comments to the Complainant, on the same day that
the comments are submitted to the Commission.
138
Consumer Code of
Practice Regulations, 2007
(d) accurate ;
(e) not kept longer than necessary ;
(f) processed in accordance with the Consumer’s
other rights ;
(g) protected against improper or accidental
disclosure ; and
(h) not transferred to any party except as permitted
by any terms and conditions agreed with the
Consumer, as permitted by any permission or
approval of the Commission, or as otherwise
permitted or required by other applicable laws
or regulations.
(2) Licensees shall meet generally accepted fair information
principles including :
(a) providing notice as to that individual Consumer
information they collect, and its use or
disclosure;
(b) the choices Consumers have with regard to the
collection, use and, disclosure of that
information;
(c) the access Consumers have to that information,
including to ensure its accuracy ; and
(d) the security measures taken to protect the
information, and the enforcement and redress
mechanisms that are in place to remedy any
failure to observe these measures.
(3) These rules apply to individual Consumer information
whether initially provided verbally or in written form,
so long as that information is retained by the Licensee
in any recorded form.
36. Any Licensee that collects information on individual
Consumers shall adopt and implement a policy
regarding the proper collection, use and protection of
that information. Licensees shall ensure that any other
Licensees or other persons with whom they exchange
or otherwise disclose such information have adopted
162
EXPLANATORY NOTE
ENGR. ERNEST NDUKWE, (OFR)
Executive Vice-Chairman
171
6
Nigerian Communications
(Enforcement Process, etc)
Regulations, 2019
Preliminary Provisions
1. The Commission shall in the exercise of its monitoring
and enforcement powers, comply with processes and
procedures provided by the Act and these Regulations.
2. (1) The Commission shall exercise its monitoring and
enforcement powers—
(a) independently and at its discretion ; or
(b) in response to a written report made by any
person in such form or manner specified in Form
A1 of the First Schedule to these Regulations.
(2) The Commission shall in using Form A2 of the First
Schedule to these Regulations, acknowledge the receipt
of any report made by any person pursuant to sub-
regulation (1)(b) of this regulation.
172
7
Frequency Spectrum (Fees and
Pricing, Etc.) Regulations, 2004
Miscellaneous
17. Regulations 11 and 12 of the Wireless Telegraphy
Regulations are hereby consequently amended by these
Regulations.
18. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise
requires—
“Act” means the Nigerian Communications Act
2003 ;
“Commission” means the Nigerian
Communications Commission established under the
Act;
“frequency spectrum” means a wide range of
frequencies with different Citation. characteristics and
applications;
“Nigeria” means the entire geographical land area,
the territorial waters and air limits of Nigeria and any
area to which the provisions of the Act applies;
“operator” means a providers of telecommunication
service duly licensed by the Commission and includes
but not limited to a licensed carrier;
“person” includes any individual or natural person,
any firm, corporation, partnership, trust, limited
liability company, joint venture, government entity or
other entity recognised under any law for the time being
in force;
“Radio Regulations” means the publication of the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that
delineates radio frequencies into bands and stipulates
the services applicable;
191
ERNEST NDUKWE
Executive Vice-Chairman
192
8
Lawful Interception of
Communications
Regulations, 2019
Interception Capabilities
10.—(1) Every Licensee shall take necessary steps as the
Commission may by way of notice direct from time to
time, to install interception capabilities that allows or
permits interception of communications.
(2) The specifications issued by the Commission under
paragraph (1) of this regulation, may include the
following—
(a) the technical requirements of any equipment to
be installed by the Licensee ;
(b) standards stipulated by the Act, these
Regulations or any guidelines as may be issued
by the Commission from time to time ; and
(c) safeguards to protect information during
transmission or when archived.
(3) The specification and technical requirement of the
equipment to be installed by Licensees for the purpose
of intercepting communications shall be as provided
for by the Commission from time to time.
(4) It shall be the duty of every Licensee to whom a notice
197
16. (1) The Commission may at any time after the receipt of an
application for an individual licence, request the
applicant to give additional information or documents
in support of the application.
(2) Where any information or document required in sub-
regulation (1) of this regulation is not provided by the
applicant within the time specified in the request or
any extension of time granted by the Commission, the
application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
(3) Information contained in an application or documents
submitted in connection with an application shall be
accurate and complete.
(4) Where before the grant or refusal of an individual
licence any information submitted with an application
is no longer accurate and complete, the applicant shall
within 14 days of such change in status, amend or
request the amendment of its application so as to furnish
such additional or amended information.
(5) Where an applicant fails to supply—
(a) accurate and complete information to the
Commission in an application for Individual
licence ; or
(b) additional or corrected information as required
in the sub regulations above, the Commission
may treat such failure as a breach under section
45(1)(b) of the Act.
17. (1) The Commission shall upon receipt of a valid
application, process the application within the time and
in the manner stipulated in section 41 of the Act.
(2) Where the Commission is satisfied with the application,
it shall issue an Offer Letter to the applicant, stipulating
terms which are applicable to the licence.
(3) An applicant shall pay the relevant licence fee within
30 days of receipt of the Offer Letter.
(4) The Commission may revalidate an Offer Letter that
has expired upon a written request by the applicant
216
Sanctions
51. (1) The Commission may suspend or revoke a licence where
there has been a breach of the—
(a) terms and conditions of the licence ;
(b) provisions of the Act ; or
(c) provisions of any Regulations issued by the
Commission.
(2) In addition to the circumstances listed in Section 45 of
the Act, the Commission may, before revoking a licence
consider—
(a) any fraud or misrepresentation by the licensee
in the application for the licence ;
(b) the ineligibility of a licensee to be granted a
licence ; or
(c) new information available to the Commission,
which would have warranted a refusal to grant
the licence on the original application.
52. Where the Commission intends to suspend or revoke a
licence in accordance with section 45 of the Act, it shall
notify the licensee of the—
(a) reasons for the intended suspension or
revocation; and
(b) date on which the intended suspension or
revocation shall take effect; and
(c) period within which representations on the
intention may be made.
53. Where the intention referred to in regulation 52 of these
Regulations is as a result of a breach of terms and
conditions, provision, or limitation of the licence, the—
(a) notice given to the licensee shall state that the
intention will be withdrawn or modified if the
breach is remedied within 60 days ; and
(b) Commission shall within the period of 30 days
following the period referred to in paragraph (a)
of this regulation, confirm, modify or withdraw
the intention.
228
Miscellaneous Provisions
56. An Applicant for a licence shall obtain an application
form at any of the following places—
(a) the head office of the Commission ;
(b) zonal offices of the Commission ;
(c) the Commission’s website ; or
(d) any location specified in a public notice issued
by the Commission in such a manner and
duration as may be advertised.
57. (1) In addition to regulation 56(1) of these Regulations, an
applicant for either an Individual licence or a Class
licence shall be required to pay an—
(a) application fee as may be determined by the
Commission from time to time ; and
(b) administrative fee in the sum equal to 5% of the
licence fee specified for the licence in the
application Form.
(2) At the expiration of the licence period, a licensee shall
be required to pay a renewal fee, where applicable, as
evaluated and approved by the Commission, provided
the licensee has no outstanding obligations—
(a) to the Commission in terms of Annual Operating
Levy, Frequency Fees, National Numbering Plan
Fees or any other regulatory fees ; and
(b) imposed by the Act, the Regulations or
Guidelines made thereunder.
58. An applicant for a Frequency licence will be required
to pay the fees as—
(a) set out in the Frequency Spectrum (Fees and
Pricing, etc.) Regulations where the licence is
awarded through an administrative process ; or
(b) may be determined by the Commission in the
case of any other method adopted for the award
of the licence.
59. The Commission shall inform the licensee of any other
fees which are applicable to the licensee and which are
232
telecommunications network;
“Telecommunications Service” means a service
consisting of the conveyance or reception of any sound,
sign, signal, writing or image by wire, optical or other
electronically guided media system whether or not such
sign, signal, writing, image, sound or intelligence has
been subjected to re-arrangement, computation or other
process by any means in the course of its transmission,
emission or reception;
“Telecommunications Equipment” means equipment,
other than customer premises equipment, used by an
operator to provide telecommunications services,
including software integral to such equipment, and an
upgrade other than switching equipment associated
with the provision of switched telecommunications
services; and
“Telecommunications System” means a system for the
conveyance through the agency of electric, magnetic,
electro-magnetic, electro-chemical, electro-mechanical
or light energy of—
(a) speech, music and other sound ;
(b) visual image;
(c) signal serving for the importance of any matter
otherwise than in the form of sound, visual
image ; or
(d) signal serving for the actuation or control of
machinery or equipment, including
telecommunications equipment situated in the
Republic of Nigeria.
65. These Regulations shall be cited as the Licensing
Regulations, 2019. Citation.
235
Schedule 1
General Undertakings
System And Service Details
The applicant shall provide the following information—
(a) service or Trade Name (if any) ;
(b) description of the telecommunications system to be
installed, including system configuration, architecture
and operation and where appropriate, how the system
is interconnected with other public telecommunications
networks or services ;
(c) description of the equipment (e.g. copper wire, fibre,
radio transmitters/receivers, switches), the technical
configuration and conformity information of each piece
of equipment to applicable standards ;
(d) the technical and operational configuration of the system
proposed should be explained fully, the explanatory
information shall include,
(e) a description of the equipment to be used, and its
technical specification ;
(f) a statement of the equipment’s conformity with
applicable standards (i.e. confirmation of compliance
with the International Telecommunications Union
Telecommunications Standardization Sector ITU-T] and
the International Telecommunications Union Radio
Communication Sector [ITU-R] recommendations and
other specifications or standards which are specifically
relevant to the proposed service),
(g) the source and availability of the equipment,
(h) a clear diagram showing the conveyance of messages
from the beginning (i.e. ways of accessing the applicant’s
system) to the end (i.e. termination of the message) with
directional arrows marked on the diagram and labels
236
Documents
The applicant shall also provide the following documents—
(a) a Certified True Copy of Certificate of Incorporation or
Business Registration Certificate; whichever is
applicable;
(b) a certified true copy of the list of current directors or a
certified true copy of “Notification of first secretary and
directors” and where applicable, a certified true copy of
“Notification of changes of secretary and directors” issued
by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC);
(c) documents showing the authorised, issued and paid-
up share capital and the current shareholding structure
of the company, e.g. “Annual Return” or “Return of
allotments” ; howsoever called;
239
Schedule 2
Schedule 3
Class Licence include the following—
(1) Payphone ;
(2) Cybercafe ;
(3) Telecenter ;
(4) Sales and Installation of Terminal Equipment ;
(5) Repairs and Maintenance of Telecommunications
Facilities ;
(6) Cabling ; and
241
10
(3) The provisions of sub regulation (2) (c) and (d) of this
regulation shall not prevent a Mobile Service Provider
from providing data or access to data for monitoring
purposes to the Commission and any Relevant
Authority.
Relationship between Mobile Service Providers
and the NPC Administrator
8. The NPC Administrator and all Licensed Operators
shall offer MNP services in accordance with the MNP
Operator User Agreement, MNP Business Rules, these
Regulations and where necessary, the Operator’s Code
of Practice registered with the Commission.
9. (1) All existing interconnect agreements or arrangements
between operators shall be subject to the provisions of
these Regulations as regards—
(a) routing of traffic to and from ported and non-
ported mobile numbers using the All Call Query
approach mandated by the Commission ; and
(b) the corresponding routing prefixing allocated by
the Commission.
(2) Where there is a conflict between the provisions of any
interconnect agreement or arrangement and these
Regulations, the provisions of these Regulations shall
prevail.
(3) All Mobile Service Providers in Nigeria shall establish
fail-proof connectivity from their respective Mobile
Number Portability Gateways to the main and disaster
recovery sites of the NPC Administrator at its own cost.
(4) A Licensed Operator having licences in more than one
licensed servicevarea may establish a common fail-
proof connectivity to the main and disaster recovery
sites of the NPC Administrator for all its licensed service
areas.
(5) A Licensed Operator, who is also a fixed interconnect
exchange service provider or international gateway
operator providing carrier service to another Licensed
249
Miscellaneous
25. The Commission may issue additional rules, directions
or guidelines on any aspect of these Regulations, which
shall be of general application or specific to a Mobile
Service Provider or Other Authorised Party.
26. In these regulations—
“Act” means the Nigerian Communications Act,
2003 and any succeeding legislation thereto;
“Additional Conveyance Charge” means the
additional incremental cost incurred to the number
block holder due to the additional switching required
along with the transmission capacity and other related
260
11
Schedule
Examples of Numbers and Blocks
1. These examples are based on the National Numbering
Plan as published at the time of preparation of these
Regulations.
2. In these Regulations, the trunk prefix is not regarded
as part of the Number. Doing this is both convenient
for the definitions in the Regulations and consistent with
the recommendations of the International
Telecommunication Union. In consequence, a customer
dialing 012691531 in Nigeria is using the Number
12691531 with the trunk prefix 0. In the current
implementation of the National Numbering Plan, this
Number actually identifies the Lagos area (‘1’), the Ikoyi
exchange (‘269’ and one line out of ten thousand (10000)
lines that have been assigned to this part of Lagos. In
the terminology of these Regulations, there is a Block
that has 1269 as its Code and 10000 as its Size. It contains
all the Numbers between its least Number : 12690000
(=1269 x 10000), and its greatest Number, 12699999
(=1269 x 10000+ 10000-1). It has Assigned as its
Allocation Status (because it has been assigned to a
Licensee for use in that part of Lagos).
3. A customer dialing 01732531 in Nigeria is using the
Number 1732531 with the trunk prefix 0. In the current
implementation of the National Numbering Plan, this
Number actually identifies the Lagos area (‘1’), the
Bagadry exchange (‘732’) and one line out of one
thousand (1000) lines that have been assigned to this
part of Lagos. In the terminology of these Regulations,
there is a Block that has 1732 as its Code and 1000 as its
284
12
Publications
9. (1) The Commission may after due analysis, mandate or
request Licensees to make necessary amendments or
corrections to the measurements submitted by Licensees
under regulation 7 ofthese Regulations .
(2) The Commission may publish some or all the KPI
measurements within two months after the end of each
Reporting Period to which the measurements apply
with or without additional notes or comments.
10. (1) For each parameter that is Reportable for a service,
Reporting Area, identified network segments, and for
each Reporting Period, measurements as published or
to be used for enforcement by the Commission under
these Regulations shall be set out in tables that contain,
for each Licensee-
( a) the name of the service provided by the Licensee;
(b) an identification of the Reporting Area, driving
route or Network segments for which the
measurements were taken ;
(c) the measurements collected from or submitted
by the Licensee ;
296
13
Registration of Telephone
Subscribers Regulations, 2011
Interpretation, Objectives and Scope
1. (1) The terms and expressions used in these Regulations
which are defined in the Act shall have the same
meaning as in the Act unless the context otherwise
requires.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise
indicates—
“Act” means the Nigerian Communications Act,
No. 19 of 2003 ;
“activate” means to allow full access to a Licensee’s
Network Service, including the ability to make and
receive calls, to send and receive short message services
and other range of services usually provided by Mobile
Telecommunication Service providers and the words
“activated”, “activation”,
303
Central Database
4. (1) The Commission shall establish and maintain a database
of all registered subscribers’ information to be known
as “the Central Database”.
(2) The Central Database shall be domiciled within the
Commission and shall provide a platform for the central
processing and storage of subscribers information.
(3) The Central Database shall be segregated across
Network Services in such a manner as to ensure easy
access to data by authorised persons in respect of
subscribers’ information of the different licensees.
5. (1) The Central Database shall be the property of the
Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
(2) The management, care and control of the Central
Database shall be vested in the Commission subject to
the provisions of these Regulations.
6. (1) Licensees and independent registration agents shall, on
a monthly basis or at such regular intervals as the
Commission may from time to time specify, transmit
all subscriber Information captured and registered
within the preceding month or such other period as may
be stipulated by the Commission, to the Central
Database.
(2) The Administration of the Central Database shall be in
accordance with the latest standards issued from time
to time by the International Organisation for
Standardization in relation to security and management
of electronics and personal data.
7. A licensee shall have the right to retain and use its
subscribers information on its network in accordance
with the provisions of Part VI of the General Consumer
Code of Practice for Telecommunications Services and
any other instrument issued from time to time by the
Commission.
8. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of these Regulations
restricting access to Subscriber Information on the
308
14
Telecommunications Networks
Interconnection Regulations 2007
15
16
available,
(ii) “unserved areas” means the geographic
areas where no level of service is
currently available,
(iii) “underserved areas” means geographic
areas where some level of service is
currently available but where universal
service is not currently available,
(iv) “designated population” means the
individuals, households, groups,
communities, institutions, etc.
determined by the USP Secretariat to be
the target beneficiaries of universal
service,
(v) “institutions” means the public entities
included in a designated population,
which may include, but are not limited
to, educational, health, administrative
and other public entities, and
(vi) “underserved groups within a
community” means the groups included
in a designated population, which
consist of a significant but not majority
proportion of individuals within a
community that share a set of distinct
characteristics and that, unlike the rest
of the community, do not have universal
service.
45. In preparing the Operating Plan, the USP Secretariat
shall have regard to the scope of the activities to be
financed by the USP Fund (the “Scope of the USP Fund”)
as estimated by the USP Secretariat for the five year
period commencing on the expected implementation
date of the Operating Plan. The Scope of the USP Fund
368
64. (1) The USP Secretariat shall issue a request for proposals
document (to be known as the “Request for Proposals”
or “RFP”) to specify the details of the USP Project and
the related competitive selection process for potential
bidders.
(2) The RFP shall be in a standard form approved by the
USP Board.
(3) The RFP shall be issued on the Commission website,
either concurrently with or subsequent to the issuance
of the Public Notice for the USP Project.
(4) The RFP shall contain detailed descriptions of :
(a) the technical and operational requirements of the
USP Project ;
(b) the maximum subsidy available from the USP
Fund for the USP Project; and
(c) the competitive selection process for the USP
Project, including:
(i) an estimated timeline for key steps in
the competitive selection process ;
(ii) the minimum service, qualification and
other requirements for eligible bidders,
and related evidentiary requirements ;
and
(iii) the rules for evaluating bids and
selecting one or more winning bidders.
65. (1) The USP Secretariat shall specify in the RFP a form of
financial security (hereafter in these Regulations referred
to as the “Bid Bond”) to be submitted to the USP
Secretariat by bidders for a USP Project to secure their
bids.
(2) The Bid Bond shall be in the form of a stand-by letter of
credit issued by a reputable bank located in or outside
of Nigeria that is acceptable to the USP Secretariat, or
such other form as determined by the USP Secretariat.
(3) The specified form of Bid Bond shall contain :
(a) the required amount of the Bid Bond ;
(b) details of the events triggering forfeiture of the
378
68. (1) The USP Board and USP Secretariat shall coordinate
with the Commission on all matters relating to the
licensing of service providers to implement USP
Projects, which shall conform at all times with the
licensing requirements of the Act.
(2) Matters for co-ordination with the Commission
pursuant to sub-regulation (1) of this regulation include:
(a) the form and content of USP Licences ;
(b) the eligibility requirements for licensees ; and
(c) the licensing process.
69. (1) The USP Secretariat shall specify in the RFP a form of
financial security (hereafter in these Regulations
referred to as “the Performance Bond”) to be submitted
to the USP Secretariat by a winning bidder for a USP
Project to secure its USP Project obligations.
(2) The Performance Bond shall be in the form of a stand-
by letter of credit issued by a reputable bank located in
or outside of Nigeria that is acceptable to the USP
Secretariat, or such other form as determined by the USP
Secretariat.
(3) The specified form of Performance Bond shall contain :
(a) the required amount of the Performance Bond ;
(b) details of the events triggering forfeiture of the
Performance Bond ; and
(c) the date by which the Performance Bond will be
released by the USP Secretariat.
(4) All Performance Bonds shall be released by the USP
Secretariat in accordance with the requirements
specified in the USP Agreement.
Financing of the USP Fund
70. The USP Fund shall be financed by one or more of :
(a) the sources specified in section 114 (2) of the Act;
and
(b) such other sources as specified in this Part IX.
380
(2) The USP Board annual report shall include, but not be
limited to:
(a) a description of the activities of the USP Board
for the preceding financial year ;
(b) the USP Fund’s audited accounts for the year
under review together with the auditors report
thereon ;
(c) the most recent USP Fund Managers quarterly
report ;
(d) the most recent approved Operating Plan ; and
(e) any other information the USP Board considers
relevant and appropriate for inclusion in the USP
Board annual report.
81. (1) The USP Secretariat shall establish a website for the USP
Fund within 6 months of the coming into force of these
Regulations.
(2) The USP Fund website shall contain information
regarding the activities undertaken by the USP
Secretariat for the promotion of universal access and
universal service in Nigeria. Such information shall
include, but not be limited to :
(a) a description of the functions of the USP Board
and the USP Secretariat;
(b) a description of the individual USP Board
members and the USP Director;
(c) an organization chart of the USP Secretariat,
including the relationship between each of the
departments;
(d) the Act, these Regulations and any subsequent
legislation, regulations, guidelines or
procedures regarding the promotion of
universal access and universal service in Nigeria;
(e) the USP Board annual reports;
(f) the USP Fund Managers quarterly reports;
(g) the approved Operating Plans;
384
General
83. Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of
these Regulations is in breach of these Regulations and
is liable to such fines, sanctions or penalties as may be
determined by the Commission, from time to time.
84. (1) The terms and expressions defined in the Act shall have
the same meaning in these Regulations and also in these
Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Act” means the Nigerian Communications Act,
2003 and any succeeding legislation thereto;
“Basic USP Terms” has the meaning ascribed in
regulation 42 (a) ;
“Bid Bond’ means the financial security to be
submitted to the USP Secretariat by bidders to secure
their bids for a USP Project;
“coercive practice” has the meaning ascribed in
regulation 56 (i) ;
“collusive practice” has the meaning ascribed in
regulation 56 (h) ;
“Commercially Profitable USP Projects” means USP
Projects that are estimated by the USP Secretariat to be
commercially profitable without any subsidy;
“Commercially Unprofitable USP Projects” means USP
Projects that, to be commercially profitable, the USP
Secretariat estimates a subsidy requirement of less than
50% of the estimated USP Project capital costs;
“Commercially Unviable USP Projects” means USP
Projects that, to be commercially profitable, the USP
Secretariat estimates a subsidy requirement :
(a) of more than 50% of the estimated USP Project
capital costs, or
(b) for ongoing operating costs after a start-up
period of time determined to be reasonable for
the USP Project by the USP Secretariat;
“Commission” means the Nigerian Communications
Commission;
386
Part Three
Guidelines
390
391
17
Explanatory Notes
This Guideline is made pursuant to the powers conferred on
the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under
sections 4(p) and 75(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act
2003. The Guideline is principally intended for small claims
consumer disputes involving amounts in dispute not
exceeding N1,000,000 (One million Naira).
The procedure is simple, quick, informal and inexpensive.
Each party may present a
written statement of its arguments in the dispute together with
supporting documents and comment on the argume nt and
evidence of the other party. The arbitrator shall make the
decision without an oral hearing on documents only and it is
important to include all evidence upon which a party wishes
to rely.
392
Introduction
2. Commencement of Arbitration
2.1 A party wishing to commence an arbitration under these
rules (the Claimant) must have exhausted all dispute
resolution procedures laid down by the service
provider without resolution of the compliant.
2.2 Where there is no existing arbitration agreement with
the other party, the party wishing to commence an
arbitration under these rules (the Claimant) shall
collect a Request for Arbitration form - Form NCC I
from the Commission upon payment of the registration
fee.
2.3 Upon due completion of the Request for Arbitration
Form the form shall be served upon the other party
(the Respondent) with copy to the Commission.
2.4 The Respondent shall sign and date same and forward
it back to the Claimant with copy to the Commission.
The Claimant shall then forward the duly signed
394
3. Appointment of Arbitrator
3.1 A sole arbitrator appointed by the commission at such
stage as considered appropriate shall conduct the
arbitration. The Commission shall notify the parties of
the arbitrator appointed.
3.2 If an arbitrator is unable to act for any reason the
Commission shall appoint another arbitrator to act in
his place.
3.3 The arbitrators appointed in accordance with the
provisions of this clause shall be and remain at all times
independent of any of the parties and the Commission
and shall determine the dispute in an impartial and
timely manner.
4. Form of Procedure
4.1 The arbitration will be conducted on a documents only
basis.
4.2 The parties claim and defence documents shall contain
396
the following-
a. All allegations of facts or matters of opinion.
b. The evidence in proof of the facts.
c. The law to be relied upon.
d. Signed and dated affidavits containing statement
of the evidence of any witness upon whose
evidence the party relies.
e. The relief sought or remedies claimed.
f. Detailed calculation of any sums claimed.
7. Costs
7.1 Registration fees are payable by the Claimant upon
collection of a Request for Arbitration or Notice of
Arbitration form. In the event that the dispute is
resolved amicably prior to the appointment of an
arbitrator by the Commission or the dispute is
considered not suitable for determination by this
procedure the fees shall be refunded. Registration fees
are regarded as part of the costs of the Arbitration and
the provisions of clause 7.3 hereof apply to its ultimate
apportionment.
398
1. …………………………………………………………….
Claimant of (Address)……………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tel ………………………………………………………..
and
………………………………………… Respondent
of (Address) …………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tel …………………………………………………….
of (Address) ………..……………………………………..
………………………….………………………………………
Telephone …………………………………………….....
1. The Claimant
………………………………..……
……………………………..………
of (Address)……………………………………………....
………………………………………………………………………………………
Tel ………………………………
Hereby gives you notice that the following dispute which has
arisen between us be referred to arbitration in accordance with
the provision of Clause ………… of our agreement dated the
……….. and be determined under the rules of the Nigerian
Communications Commission small claims short form
procedure for dispute resolution.
SIGNED
Copy to: -
3. Submission Agreement
3.1 If the Commission is requested by a party, hereinafter
referred to as the initiating party wishing to have its
dispute with any other party arbitrated under the
auspices of the Commission it will approach the other
party and seek to persuade it to enter into a submission
agreement with the initiating party. Alternatively the
406
4 Appointment of Arbitrators
5. Arbitration Procedure
5.1 The Tribunal shall adopt procedures appropriate to
the case with the aim of achieving the just, speedy,
economical and final resolution of the dispute. To that
end it shall act fairly and impartially between the
parties, giving each party an opportunity to present its
case and dealing with that of his opponent.
5.2 The Tribunal upon its appointment shall communicate
with or issue directions to the parties.
5.3 The Tribunal shall have the jurisdiction and power to
direct the procedure of the arbitration including the
407
7. Costs
8 MIscellaneous
8.1 The Tribunal shall determine the law applicable to the
dispute if the parties fail to agree.
8.2 The provisions of the Evidence Act are inapplicable to
this procedure.
8.3 Subject to the right of a party to draw the tribunals
attention to any accidental slip and omission which it
has power to correct, neither the Commission nor the
Tribunal shall enter into any correspondence regarding
an award issued under this guideline.
8.4 In the event that an arbitrator dies, is incapacitated or
is otherwise incapable of acting or dealing
expeditiously with the dispute, the Commission shall
appoint a substitute arbitrator and inform the parties.
8.5 Neither the Commission nor the Tribunal or any
member shall be liable to any party for any act or
omission in connection with the arbitration conducted
under these rules.
8.6 Arbitration proceedings must be concluded within sixty
days (60) from the date of commencement.
8.7 Awards made under this procedure are final and
binding on the parties until set aside by a competent
court of law.
8.8 These Rules are subject to revision and amendment
from time to time and any arbitration under this
procedure shall be governed by the edition of the Rules
410
3. The Mediator
3.1 The designated representative of the Commission shall
conduct the Mediation.
3.2 The Commission may appoint another mediator in the
place of the person initially designated in the event that
the designated mediator is unable to act for any reason.
4. Mediation Procedure
4.1 The Mediator shall be responsible for the conduct of
the mediation. The Mediator’s aim shall be to assist
the parties in an impartial manner to achieve an
amicable settlement which the parties consider
appropriate to their particular circumstances.
4.2 The Mediator shall do all things necessary to facilitate
the settlement of the dispute. He shall amongst any
other steps considered appropriate:-
• Attend any meetings with any or all of the parties
prior to proceeding with the
• mediation if requested or if such meeting is
deemed appropriate.
• Chair and determine the procedure for the
Mediation.
• Assist the parties in drawing up any written
settlement agreements.
• If requested by all the parties give a non-binding
evaluation of the respective merits of
• the dispute or any aspect of it.
• At the request of all the parties in the event that
they are unable to reach agreement
• during negotiations at the mediation, make a
written recommendation as to terms of
• settlement. Such recommendation need not be
such that a court or arbitrator would have made,
412
5. Participants
5.1 The parties may be represented by persons of their
choice including legal advisers provided all such
representatives have written authority issued by the
party being represented. The written authorization
indicating the names and addresses of such
representatives are to be communicated to the
Commission and the other parties and shall state the
name of the lead representative vested with the
necessary authority to settle the dispute.
5.2 Legal Advisers acting for Parties may participate in the
mediation process to such an extent as the mediator
may consider useful and appropriate.
6. Exchange of Information
Each party shall exchange with the other and send to
the Commission within such time as may be stipulated
by the mediator or any other date agreed between the
parties and the mediator sufficient copies of:-
a. A concise summary (the summary) setting forth its case
with regard to the issues that needs to be resolved.
b. All the documents to which the Summary refers and
any others to which it may want to refer in the mediation
(“the Documents”). In addition each party may bring
to the mediation any further documentation which it
wishes to disclose.
7. Date, Time and Place of Mediation
7.1 The Mediator shall in consultation with the Commission
fix the time, date and place of each mediation session.
8. Record of Proceedings
8.1 No formal record or transcript of the Proceedings will
be made without the prior consent of the parties.
413
9. Settlement Agreement
9.1 The parties shall record any agreed settlement
(Settlement Agreement) which results from the
mediation.
9.2 The parties upon signing the settlement agreement are
bound by the terms of the Agreement as a binding and
enforceable contract.
10. Confidentiality and Privilege
10.1 Every person involved in the mediation will keep
confidential and not use for any collateral or ulterior
purpose:-
(i) All information whether given orally or
otherwise produced for, or arising in relation to
the mediation including the settlement
agreement (if any) arising out of it, except in so
far as is necessary to implement and enforce any
such settlement agreement or to comply with any
court direction.
(ii) The fact that the Mediation is to take place or
has taken place.
1. Introduction
2. Commencement
2.1. The arbitration process is commenced by the filing of a
petition for arbitration in six copies with the
Commission pursuant to Section 4(p) and 75(2) of the
Act by any party to the negotiation process (hereinafter
referred to as the “Petitioning Party”) where the
negotiating process fails to reach an agreement within
a period of ninety days.
2.2. The arbitration process is deemed to have commenced
on the date when the petition is filed with the
Commission.
2.3. The petitioning party shall at the same time as it files
the petition at the Commission serve copies on all
parties to the negotiating process and obtain proof of
service which should be filed at the Commission.
2.4. The petition shall contain all relevant information and
documentation including the following:-
(i) The names, address, telephone numbers and fax
number of the petitioner.
(ii) The name, address, telephone numbers and fax
number of the other party to the negotiation.
(iii) The names, address, telephone number and fax
of the representative of the parties who
participated during the negotiation.
(iv) Details of the negotiation history including any
mediation process.
(v) A detailed statement identifying all unresolved
issues and including all relevant documentation
concerning those unresolved issues.
(vi) A statement indicating the position of each of
the parties concerning the unresolved issues
including proposed remedies and copies of all
relevant documentation relied upon or
pertaining to those issues.
(vii) A statement indicating the issues (if any) which
have been resolved by the parties during the
417
negotiation process.
(viii) A brief addressing the issues and containing all
relevant provisions of the Act and applicable
NCC regulation and guidelines.
(ix) In the case of price disputes proposed rates or
charges, detailed costs/accounting information
and all relevant supporting information and
documentation.
(x) Proposed interconnection agreements submitted
by both the petitioning party and the non-
petitioning party or the interconnection
agreement being negotiated by the parties.
(xi) Proposed time schedule for the implementation
of the terms and conditions of the agreements.
(xii) Any condition the party wishes to have imposed
together with the justification for such.
(xiii) Any request for interim ruling pending the
decision of the arbitrator.
(xiv) All other documents relevant to the dispute and
intended to be relied upon as evidence in the
arbitration proceedings.
9.1. The parties to the proceeding shall bear equally all costs
and fees of the arbitrator, that of any technical experts
and consultants retained to assist the arbitrator and the
administrative fees of the Commission as fixed by the
Commission in accordance with the scale in force at
the time of the commencement of the proceedings.
9.2. Each party shall bear the legal and any other costs
incurred by the party to present its petition or response
to a petition filed against it.
9.3. As soon as practicable the Communication shall
request the parties to pay in equal shares the costs of
the arbitration stipulated in Clause 9.1.
9.4. The Arbitrator shall have power to order any party who
has delayed proceedings or behaved in an unreasonable
manner to pay the apportionment or a percentage of
the apportionment of the other payment.
10. Arbitrator’s Decision
10.1. The Arbitrator shall have the power to issue an interim
ruling where a dispute directly affects the ability of a
party to continue to provide uninterrupted services to
its Customers.
10.2. The Arbitrator shall issue its final decision and file same
with the Commission not later than six months after
420
Introduction
An Arbitrator should be impartial, independent, competent,
diligent and discreet. These guidelines seek to indicate the
manner in which these abstract qualities may be assessed. For
the purpose of these Guidelines the reference to “he” refers to
both male and female arbitrators.
1. Professional Standard
An Arbitrator shall proceed diligently and efficiently
to provide the parties with a just andeffective resolution
of their disputes, and shall be and shall remain free from
bias.
2. Acceptance of Appointment
A prospective Arbitrator shall not solicit appointment
and shall accept appointment if offered only if he is
fully satisfied that he is able to discharge his duties
without bias or the appearance of bias; that he is
competent to determine the issues in dispute and has
an adequate knowledge of the language of the
arbitration; that he is able to give to the arbitration the
time and attention which the parties are reasonably
entitled to expect.
3. Elements of Bias
3.1 The criteria for assessing questions relating to bias are
impartiality and independence. Partiality arises when
an Arbitrator favours one of the parties, or where he is
422
4. Duty of Disclosure
4.1 A prospective Arbitrator should disclose all facts or
circumstances that may give rise to justifiable doubts
as to his impartiality or independence. Failure to make
such disclosure creates an appearance of bias, and may
of itself be a ground for disqualification even though
the non-disclosed facts or circumstances would not of
themselves justify disqualification.
4.2 A prospective Arbitrator should disclose:
(a) Any past or present business relationship,
whether direct or indirect as illustrated in Article
3.3, with any party to the dispute, or any
representative of a party, or any person known
to be a potentially important witness in the
arbitration. With regard to present relationships,
the duty of disclosure applies irrespective of
their magnitude, but with regard to past
relationships only if they were of more than a
trivial nature in relation to the Arbitrator’s
professional or business affairs. Non-disclosure
of an indirect relationship unknown to a
prospective arbitrator will not be a ground for
disqualification unless it could have been
ascertained by making reasonable enquiries;
(b) The nature and duration of any substantial social
relationships with any party or any person
known to be likely to be an important witness in
the arbitration;
(c) The extent of any prior knowledge he may have
of the dispute;
d) The extent of any commitments which may affect
his availability to perform his duties as Arbitrator
as may be reasonably anticipated.
4.3 The duty of disclosure continues throughout the
arbitral proceedings as regards new facts or
circumstances.
424
8. Costs
Costs of the reference shall be in accordance with the
NCC schedule of fees and expenses.
9. Award
(a) Any award made by the arbitrator or arbitral
tribunal, shall be in writing and signed by the
arbitrator or arbitrators.
(b) Where the arbitral tribunal comprises of more
than one arbitrator, the
signatures of a majority of all the members of
the arbitral tribunal
shall suffice if the reason for the absence of any
signature is stated.
(c) The arbitral tribunal shall state on the award ;
i. the reasons upon which it is based,
unless the parties have agreed otherwise
ii. the date it was made; and
iii. the place of the arbitration
Rule One
An Arbitrator has an ove rriding obligation to act fairly and
impartially as between the parties, at all stages of the
proceedings.
Rule Two
An Arbitrator shall be free from bias and shall disclose any
interest or relationship likely to affect his impartially or which
might reasonably create an appearance of partiality or bias.
This is an ongoing duty and does not cease until the arbitration
has concluded.
Failure to make such a disclosure itself may create an
appearance of bias, and may be a ground for disqualification.
427
Rule Three
An Arbitrator shall only accept an appointment if he has
suitable experience and ability for the case and available time
to proceed with the arbitration.
Rule Four
An Arbitrator shall be faithful to the relationship of trust and
confidentiality inherent in that office.
Rule Five
An Arbitrator’s fees and expenses shall be in accordance with
the NCC schedule of fees and expenses.
Rule Six
Arbitrators may publicize their expertise and experience but
shall not actively solicit appointment as Arbitration.
428
18
Guidelines on Disaster
Recovery for The Nigerian
Communications Industry, 2023
General Provisions
1. Application
These Guidelines shall apply to all communications
Network facilities and service providers in Nigeria.
2. Objectives
These Guidelines seek to address the major causes of
communications system failures such as emergencies,
disasters, terrorist or cyber-attacks, loss of infrastructure
and Network congestion; and in this regard:
(1) To provide for a disaster preparedness and
recovery regulatory framework for
telecommunications Network facilities and
service providers.
429
Miscellaneous
10. Interpretations
In these Guidelines, unless the context otherwise
requires: -
‘Act’ means the Nigerian Communications Act,
2003;
‘Communications system failure’ means multiple
failures of network elements causing service disruption
and outages;
‘cyber-attack’ means acts of deliberate, large-scale
disruption of computer networks, especially of personal
computers attached to the internet;damage to a
computer within the definition of the Cybercrime Act,
2015;
‘Commission’ means the Nigerian
Communications Commission;
‘Committee’ means Disaster Recovery
Coordination Committee;
‘Denial of Service Attacks (DoS)’meansany type of
attack where the attackers (hackers) attempt to prevent
legitimate users from accessing the service.
‘Disaster’ includes a catastrophe, mishap, calamity,
heavy rain, flood, landslides, high tide, fire, terrorist
attack or grave occurrence of any kind, arising from
natural or man-made causes, or by accident or
negligence which results in substantial loss of life or
human suffering or damage to, and destruction of,
property causing interruption to business and services
or degradation of environment, and is of such a nature
438
SCHEDULE I
Paragraph 3 (1)
(Paragraph 3)
Structure and Content of Disaster Recovery Plan
1.0 The primary aim of disaster recovery planning is to ensure
that business processes are restored within the agreed
recovery time in the event of an unplanned interruption
to service or denial of access to staff.
1.1 A Networkfacilities and service provider shall ensure
that the disaster recovery plan is:
(a) Written and disseminated so that the staff who are
familiar with the organization but not the function
can implement the plan in a timely manner;
(b) Specific regarding what conditions should
trigger its implementation;
(c) Specific regarding what immediate steps are to be
taken during a disruption;
(d) Flexible to respond to unanticipated threat
scenarios and changing internal conditions;
(e) Focused on how to get the business up and
running in the event that a specific facility or
function is disrupted, rather than on the precise
nature of the disruption;
(f) Specific regarding disaster recovery and continuity
teams and contact lists of critical personnel; and
(g) Effective in minimizing service disruptions.
1.2 Every disaster recovery plan shall:
(a) Document strategies and procedures to maintain,
resume, and recover critical business functions and
processes and should include procedures to
execute the plan’s priorities for critical and non-
critical functions, services and processes;
(b) Describe in some detail the type of events and
decision points that would lead up to the formal
declaration of a disaster and the process for
invoking the plan.
452
Annexure A
(Paragraph 3)
19
Introduction
1. Background
Infrastructure Sharing
Co-location
14. Separation
(1) The Commission expects that parties involved in all
C/IS arrangements, will make efficient use of scarce
space.
(2) Parties negotiating for co-location will be at liberty to
request for separation of equipment to increase internal
and external security, reduce interference problems and
limit damage to each other’s equipment.
(3) The degree to which separation of equipment will be
granted to an Access Seeker will be determined, among
other things, by;
(a) Prevailing local circumstance,
(b) Available space,
(c) Special requirements of Access Seekers,
(d) Level of standardisation,
(e) Risk of damage.
15. Standardisation
(1) To facilitate improved co-ordination and compatibility
of equipment, parties to a C/IS arrangement should
endeavor to develop and employ standard procedures
for provision and operations under the arrangement.
(2) The standard procedures to be developed by parties
under the arrangement will be in the areas of;
(a) Maintenance,
(b) Fault clearance,
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(4) Each party shall bear its set -up cost such as last mile
connections, interfaces, software upgrades except as
may be otherwise mutually agreed.
(5) Frequency of billing may be monthly, quarterly, bi-
annually or annually, as may be agreed by both parties.
(6) However, billing for traffic-based sharing, such as Voice,
Data and VAS shall be monthly and the invoice shall
be within 14 (fourteen) days of the end of the transaction.
Wherethere is a delay in invoicing for a particular
period, the reason for such delay shall be
communicated and agreed by both parties.
(7) Payment for all services shall be in advance, except
traffic-based invoices which shall be settled within 30
(thirty) days of receipt of invoice.
(8) Every Inter Operator Tariff (IOT) shall be bilateral and
non-discriminatory. As such, Infrastructure Providers
shall offer the same tariff to all Infrastructure Seekers of
its service on a national basis, not geographical basis,
unless otherwise approved by the Commission.
(9) The Commission may, from time to time, effect a price
cap, pending the cost study for determination of tariffs.
20
Guidelines on Procedure for
Granting Approval to Disconnect
Telecommunications Operators
General
1. Introduction
(1) The Nigerian Communications Commission (the
Commission) has been given powers under the
Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (the Act) to, inter-
alia
(a) Grant approvals for applications made under any
circumstance to disconnect a licensee
(b) Make and publish guidelines on any matter for the due
administration of provisions of the Act.
(2) These Guidelines are developed to ensure that the
procedure for granting approval by the Commission
for the disconnection of a licensee is founded on a
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9. Partial Disconnection
(1) Where a determination is made on the merits that a
request for approval to disconnect should be granted,
the Commission reserves the right to authorize an
applicant to partially disconnect the respondent on
terms to be decided by the Commission. For purpose
of these Guidelines, Partial Disconnection shall be
limited to the disconnection of only outbound calls from
the respondent’s network to the applicant’s network.
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SCHEDULE
1. APPLICANT’S INFORMATION
A. Name:
B. Address:
C. Licence Category
2. RESPONDENT’S INFORMATION
A. Name:
B. Address:
C. Licence Category
1. RESPONDENT’S INFORMATION
A. Name:
B. Address:
C. Licence Category
2. APPLICANT’S INFORMATION
A. Name:
B. Address:
C. Licence Category
3. RECONCILIATIONS:
A. Is Reconciliation Complete?
B. Amount owed:
C. Amount Undisputed:
D. Amount disputed:
E. Particulars of Disputed Amount:…………………….
…………..........................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
F.Payment Proposal for Amount
Undisputed…………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
5.COUNTERCLAIM (IF
A NY ): …………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………
21
Guidelines on Technical
Specifications for the
Installation of
Telecommunications
Masts and Towers
1. General Introduction
(1) These guidelines provide standards to be adhered to
by telecommunications services providers/operators,
designers, fabricators and installers of
telecommunications towers towards ensuring
environmental safety and sound engineering practices.
(2) The guidelines takes cognisance of types and
constituents of tower structures and also provides a
comprehensive data on wind speeds in Nigeria which
may be used as reference material for engineers in the
design of masts and towers.
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(2) Superstructure
The following parameters shall apply to all
superstructure of towers and masts.
(a) All steel materials to be used in the finishing of
the superstructure shall be hot-dip galvanised
and painted according the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA) paint schedule
for obstructions.
(b) All aluminium materials shall have aluminium
finish and painted according to NAMA paint
schedule for obstructions.
(3) Painting
(a) All skeleton type structures must be painted to
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
stipulations on obstruction painting. ICAO
stipulates that:
(i) For structures up to 212 metres, the
structure shall be given seven equal
bands of red and white paint or orange
and white paint.
(ii) For structures above 212 metres, nine
bands of paint in alternating red and
white or red and orange.
(iii) In all cases the top and bottom of mast
or tower must be painted red or orange.
(iv) Paint shall be non gloss finish (matt).
(b) Mast and Towers shall in addition, be painted
with base primer paint, one suitable under coat
of red and white or orange and white followed
by two coats of non gloss (matt) paint.
(4) Obstruction Lighting
(a) All mast and tower structures in Nigeria must
conform strictly to ICAO / NAMA guidelines
with respect to obstruction lighting of tall
structures as illustrated in Figure 2.21 of the First
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(5) Substructure
The following parameters are applicable to the
substructure of towers and masts.
(a) Foundation and Anchors
(i) Foundations for tower and mast structures shall
be designed to withstand the full expected
dynamic loads namely; antennae, feeders, wind
loading, etc.
(ii) The design shall take cognisance of the geo-
technical investigation findings on soil and wind
conditions at the installation site for purposes
of determining bearing pressures (vertical and
horizontal), other sub-surface conditions, the
suitable foundation type (reinforced concrete
blocks, standard pad and column, raft, preset
rock anchors or piles), construction materials and
installation method.
(iii) Engineers are to compute the weight of tower
structure, antenna feeders and all associated steel
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(iii) Earthing
a. Check the physical condition of the
lightning rod and lightning arrestor
b. Check the physical condition and
installation of the copper strip
c. Check the connection of the concrete
block copper belting onto the copper
strip the connection of coaxial cables
earthing onto the copper strip
d. Check the connection between the
bottom coaxial cable earthing and the
collection Copper bar fixed on the
concrete block
e. Check the tightening of the brass bolts
of the lightning protection electrodes
f. Check the resistivity of the lightning
protection electrodes
g. Earth resistance
(iv) Aviation Safety Lights
The following checks should be carried
out:
a. Functionality of controllers, flashers,
alarms and photo control
b. Condition of electrical wires,
connectors and earthing
c. Condition and fixing of energy cables
d. Conduit, junction boxes, and fasteners
weather tight and secure
e. Bulb condition - change all bulbs at
the same time immediately before the
rated service hours is achieved.
f. Condition and fidelity of the power
supply systems
(v) Coating
a. To prevent discrepancies in
galvanization
543
14. Repeal
(1) This Guidelines supersede any other guidelines
or specifications made for the regulation of
masts and towers under the Nigerian
Communications Act, 2003. The earlier
published Guidelines on Technical
Specifications for the Installation of
Telecommunications Masts and Towers are
hereby repealed.
15. Interpretation
In these guidelines
“Alternative Mounting Structure” refer to man
made tree, clock tower, church steeple, bell tower, utility
pole, light standard, identification pylon, flagpole, or
similar structure, designed to support and camouflage
or conceal the presence of telecommunications
antennas.
“Antenna” means structure or device used to collect
or radiate electromagnetic waves, including directional
antennas, such as panels, wireless cable and satellite
dishes, and omnidirectional antennas, such as whips,
but not including satellite earth stations.
“Antenna Array” means an arrangement of antennas
on their supporting structure.
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