The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is adamant about deploying a Revenue Assurance Solution (RAS) in the telecommunications industry to enable a more stable Annual Operating Levy (AOL) administration.
On Friday, February 25, 2022, the Commission hosted an industry stakeholder consultative engagement at its Abuja headquarters, which was in line with the NCC famous commitment to inclusive participation and consultative stakeholder engagement as part of its regulatory practice.
What You Need To Know About RAS Application
The RAS application is designed to ensure a linkage with licensed telecommunications operators systems and will be capable of capturing and reporting billing activities by the operators in near real-time for the purposes of, among other things, computing and assuring the accruable AOL to NCC from licensees with a minimal margin of error. When fully operational, the NCC RAS will provide substantial answers to the industry problems, such as improved monitoring and regulation of licensed telecommunications companies.
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Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the NCC, said AOL remains the bedrock of an efficient and effective telecommunications regulatory environment, speaking at the event, which was well attended by representatives of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Licensees of the Value Added Service chain, officials of the Commission, and other industry stakeholders.
The session, according to Danbatta, was held to educate industry stakeholders about the Commission proposal to use RAS, which will bring better transparency and accuracy to the administration of AOL in the sector, as mandated by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003.
According to the EVC, the Commission has made several steps to achieve an effective AOL administration since the NCA 2003 went into effect, including the establishment of AOL Regulations 2014, which is currently being evaluated, in accordance with Section 72 of the Act.
According to him, the Commission believes that deploying proper RAS will improve monitoring and regulatory operations surrounding AOL administration, as well as confer higher degrees of honesty and faithfulness on the industry AOL statistics.
The History
Danbatta recalled that the need to install the most appropriate Revenue Assurance Systems in the Nigerian telecommunications industry began in 2015, when the Commission issued a request for proposals, with 3R Company Nigeria Limited emerging as the preferred bidder. During the bid process, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) indicated a no objection to the process, according to the EVC.
“However, it was later reasoned that, given the project complexity, the solution would be better purchased through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure.” As a result, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) was invited to oversee the procedure, as required under its statutes.
Following that, the Commission established a Project Delivery Team (PDT), which collaborated with a group of legal advisers, financial modelers, and PPP experts under the supervision of the ICRC and took the necessary measures under the ICRC Regulations 2005.”
According to him, part of the process involved proper due diligence of the favored partner, which obtained a clean bill of health from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), as well as the software and hardware component being subjected to the Commission scrutiny.
