The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made good its threat to banks and companies illegally occupying unlicenced spectra by shutting down and confiscating the transmitting equipment of Intercontinental Bank, IPNX and Galaxy Wireless, two telecommunications service providers illegally using the unlicenced 5.4 GHz frequency band.
The telecom regulator had recently in advertorials published in national dailies warned banks, internet service providers and other companies illegally occupying the spectrum to desist from such or face the wrath of the Commission.? At the weekend, the enforcement team of the NCC in Abuja, sealed off the equipment rooms of a branch of Intercontinental Bank of Nigeria located in Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja, and IPNX Ltd.
Two officers of the bank were handed over to the police for further investigations over the source of their transmission as the bank has no operational licence to provide the service while radio equipment from the bank and the telecom company, IPNX, were seized by the officials of the Commission led by Mr. Efosa Idehen, the Head of Enforcement of the Commission.
Head, Media and Public Relations of NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said the enforcement action was in line with the Commission’s mandate and commitment to ensure that the frequency spectrum was not abused. He said the frequency spectrum is a finite resource of the country and that the companies involved were denying the federal government of its source of revenues.
He said apart from sealing the offices and removing the equipment of culpable companies or institutions, they would also be liable to paying all the relevant fees for those frequencies for the duration they have utilised them, in addition to paying the penalties associated with defaulting on the provisions of telecommunications regulatory statutes.
He said the Commission was able to detect the illegal operators and users through its state-of-the art signal monitoring equipment which it is deploying across the country to ensure that no company or organisation illegally operates or uses the licencable frequencies in the country.