The Executive Vice President of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said that the country’s telecom industry is currently exposed to many risks, which all stakeholders must come together to eliminate.
According to him, the risks facing the industry include cybersecurity and online fraud, regulatory burden, multiple taxes, vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, right-of-way challenges, access to foreign exchange, and cross-industry indebtedness. , among others.
Speaking at a stakeholder forum in Abuja, Danbatta, who was represented by Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Yetunde Akinloye, said that the essence of the forum was to examine myriad issues challenging the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy. and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 and to enhance the development of a sustainable ICT sector in Nigeria.
Manage risks: Calling for collaboration between the regulator and other stakeholders in the industry, to achieve multi-stakeholder strategies aimed at identifying and addressing emerging risks in the telecom sector to ensure sustainable and impactful growth, Danbatta said:
- “While risk management has been critical in our regulatory service delivery, we recognize that all stakeholders need to be concerned about the various uncertainties facing the industry. There is no denying the fact that the information and communication technology sector is inherently fraught with various business and technology risks.
- “Therefore, it is important that regulatory risks are minimized to ensure that services are not interrupted and that consumers get the latest and best services available globally. The Commission, in an attempt to ensure that industry operators enjoy a conducive operating environment, has had reason to seek government interventions and collaborate with other government agencies to address major sectoral risks. added.
X-ray telecommunications risk radar: Eniola Olugboyega, facilitator of the event who spoke on issues that concern operators, said that risk-taking can have a positive or negative impact on companies. She also stated that the most common losses due to poor risk management in the sector include customer dissatisfaction, fines and litigation, product failures and lost business opportunities, among others.
According to him, effective risk management aids effective decision-making, prevents financial and reputational loss, and addresses potential threats. Therefore, he said that telecom risk from the operators’ perspective includes regulatory risk, insecurity, data breach risk, currency risk, increased CAPEX risk, human resource risk, and inability to take advantage of new business models.