Twenty-two years after the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 was enacted and activated, the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, yesterday, began a two-day colloquium in Lagos to appraise the Communications Act by discussing its impact and challenges since 2003, with a view to reviewing it in line with technology evolution.
The colloquium, themed, “The Nigerian Communications Act 2003; 22 Years After – Challenges, Opportunities and Future Directions for a Digital Nigeria,” brought together telecoms operators, industry stakeholders, NCC, and legislators, to discuss the Communications Act and its challenges.
The participants stressed the need for a review that would bring about the development of new strategies that would empower NCC and make it an independent regulator.
They were of the view that the new Act should be able to strengthen the cybersecurity framework, enhance innovation, address the regulatory overlaps between NCC and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and also address the issue of protection of National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII), among others.
They added that the Communications Act 2003 was no longer in tune with modern realities in the telecoms sector.
