Business, Science & Tech
By Anthony Isibor
THE Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has released the guidelines on National Roaming services in Nigeria.
These guidelines released are in line with the powers conferred upon it by Section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The guidelines are intended to “Give effect to the provisions of licenses which permit the licensees to enter into agreements for the purpose of providing National Roaming, and “Encourage National Roaming between Roaming Providers and Roaming Seekers within a predetermined framework to remove uncertainty and ensure seamless communication across all networks in Nigeria.
“The guidelines shall apply only to holders of licences validly issued by the Commission, containing a condition that makes the holder eligible to enter into a national roaming service agreement, which shall be provided for within the geographical boundaries of Nigeria.
These guidelines are also “To be read in conjunction with the Act, the Collocation Guidelines, Interconnection Regulations, Quality of Service Regulations, Competition Practices Regulations, other subsidiary legislations that may be issued by the Commission from time to time and relevant license conditions.
The part two of the document provides for all legal procedure required for the National Roaming service, however, the commission reserves the right to request for additional information or amendment of relevant parts of the National Roaming Agreement in order to comply with the provisions of the Act, these guidelines and any other relevant subsidiary legislation or regulatory instrument.
It also includes that “National roaming services shall commence within 90 days from receipt of the Roaming Request.
Part of the guideline allows for roaming seekers to report directly to the commission where they are ill-treated by their service providers.
This includes the commission’s authority to intervene and regulate rates or tariffs whenever rates or tariffs are prohibitive and subscribers will be adversely affected.
“Where the Roaming Seeker receives no response from the Roaming Provider within 15 days of its request, the Roaming Seeker shall immediately notify the Commission in writing, and the Commission shall take necessary steps to ensure the Roaming Provider responds to the Roaming Request.
“Where the Roaming Request is rejected, the Roaming Provider shall within 10 working days of receipt of the Roaming Request notify the Roaming Seeker and the Commission of its refusal by completing the relevant section of the Response to Roaming Request Form B contained under Schedule 1 of these Guidelines and furnishes supporting evidence therewith.
Also provided for in the guidelines is the power of the commission to settle disputes between roaming service seekers and roam service providers.
“Where a resolution is not reached, either party may refer the matter to the Commission for resolution in line with the provisions of Sections 75 and 76 of the Act and the Dispute Resolution Guidelines.
“The decision of the Commission in this regard shall be final and binding on parties until set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“Further to Paragraph 7(2) above, if a National Roaming Agreement is not finalized and executed by parties within 60 days from the date the Roaming Provider receives a Roaming Request, either party may request the Commission to intervene in order to facilitate the conclusion of the National Roaming Agreement.
“The Commission shall, within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request for intervention, prescribe the terms and conditions, including national roaming charges.
“The Commission shall exercise its authority to intervene and regulate rates or tariffs whenever rates or tariffs are prohibitive and subscribers will be adversely affected.
Part three of the document covers all the technical provisions of the guidelines as it concerns the Visiting and Visited Network operators under the National Roaming Agreement.
It specifies that “The exchange of network parameters shall be GSM 1R21 as modified for National Roaming or any other compatible format.
“Inter-standards Roaming for voice shall not be permitted under these Guidelines except with the approval of the Commission based on verifiable inter-operability test by both parties.
“Where technically necessary, Service Providers, who have agreed to Roaming are required to redesign their networks to accommodate additional traffic for the duration of the National Roaming Agreement.
The guidelines also provide that The Roaming Provider shall take into consideration in its engineering planning and design, the Roaming Seeker’s requirements as contained in the Roaming Request Form.
“The Home and Visited Network shall meet on a quarterly basis or as may be required in order to review the technical data and review both short and long term requirements.
“Deployment and rollout sharing may be agreed by parties in order to mitigate congestion and reduce reliance on Roaming.
Other aspects of the guidelines include all the conditions concerning roaming services.
– July 8, 2021 @ 19:08 GMT |
Tags: guidelines on National Roaming services in Nigeria NCC
