In order to arrest the challenge of proliferation of substandard devices, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced a strategic partnership with the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN).
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, declared the partnership today when he visited the Ikeja Computer Village in Lagos, Nigeria.
“A new frontier of collaborative and strategic partnership has opened between NCC, CAPDAN and all CAPDAN affiliates all over Nigeria.
“Today’s visit by a delegation from NCC led by its EVC/CEO underscores the reiterated commitment by NCC to partner CAPDAN as a strategic stakeholder in the telecom ecosystem,” the commission stated in a press release.
Prof. Danbatta said NCC is ready to partner with CAPDAN in order to translate into reality relevant provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
TheNewsGuru reports NCC and CAPDAN had earlier discussed issues of seminal benefits to the Nigerian economy.
Among the issues discussed were the imperative of special partnership to arrest the challenge of proliferation of substandard devices because of their implication for poor quality of telecom services.
Also discussed was the need to halt the rise in tempo of cloning of IMEI numbers – a unique 15 digit code which every phone or Mobile Broadband Device has.
Danbatta declared that as part of the strategic partnership, the commission will commence capacity building for members of the Association.
He stated that the Digital Bridge Institute (a training institution set up by NCC in 2004) with its multi-campus status is sufficiently equipped to offer requisite training to CAPDAN members.
He informed that the National Board for Technical Education has approved a number of courses at the Institute, including a National Innovation Diploma Programme.
Earlier, the President of CAPDAN, Adeniyi Ahmed Okikutu, had told Danbatta that what takes place daily at the Computer Village transcends selling of mobile devices, but includes amazing technical and innovative activities such as refurbishment of ware, software development, and demonstration of potential for the manufacturing of devices.
The Computer Village has been described as Nigeria’s equivalent of Silicon Valley and Bangalore, ICT hub of the United States and India respectively.