LAGOS: MTN Nigeria, Globacom and Airtel Nigeria are facing a threat of sanctions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) if the operators do not improve their services by the end of November. The move has the companies and analysts worried that it could hurt the overall industry in Africa's largest telecom sector. “MTN Nigeria received notice from the Nigerian Communications Commission that it, together with two other operators (Glo and Airtel), had not complied with the NCC quality of service requirements,” MTN said, confirming the rumors that were reported over the weekend on Monday. “Further that MTN Nigeria had 30 days from 1 November 2011 to meet the set targets as set out in the notice. Failure to comply will result in the NCC directive in the time frame given, will require all new sales of SIM cards to be stopped and the imposition of a financial penalty. ” If the companies do not “improve” their quality of service by the end of the month, the NCC said it would cancel the operators ability to issue new SIM cards. Mark Ogunba, a Lagos-based IT and telecom analyst, told Bikyamasr.com that the government must be careful not to alienate the companies as they push toward wider telecom and Internet penetration. “While it is definitely important to improve our infrastructure and quality of service, threats are unlikely to get it done and this could result in these companies deciding it is too costly,” he said. “We need incentives instead.” BM
