Notable General Conditions For Private Network Links (PNL) Business Licensing in Nigeria

This article aims to look into Private Network Links (PNL) business licensing as an individual license category and the detailed general conditions for the grant of this license as outlined by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)which is in charge of licensing and regulating PNL licensees in Nigeria.

This write up will then commence with a definition of PNL services as a Telecomms business and then a listing of conditions consequent to licensing.

Definition: Private Network Links or PNL services are defined by the NCC as “A privately owned telecommunications network comprising radio, cable or satellite-based subsystems or a combination of any of these systems as approved & deployed for the purpose of providing point to point or switched/unswitched point to multi point communications”. 

Conditions

Compliance with the Act and Regulations 

-A licensee shall comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act, the Wireless 

Telegraphy Act,and regulations made thereto and with any direction, determination or order that the Act may provide for the NCC to give or make. 

Directory Information

 – A licensee shall:

 (1) on request by any person in Nigeria (other than a public telecommunications operator) to whom it provides voice telephony services, provide to that person a directory information service relating to the switched voice telephony services it provides to any other person, and

(2) on the written request of any person in Nigeria, supply to that person such directories as the licensee, for the purpose of facilitating the use by others of any switched telecommunication service it provides, publishes and makes available generally to persons to whom it provides those services. 

Calls made by Emergency Organisations 

-A licensee shall provide by means of its lines such facilities as would enable a caller free of charge to communicate in the event of an emergency in the area serviced by the Licensee with an emergency organisation.

Approval of Tariffs, Terms and Conditions 

– A licensee shall lodge a notice of tariffs with the NCC which sets out in relation to each kind of service that the Licensee proposes to offer:  

(1) a description of the service; 

(2) details of the nature and amounts of charges payable for the service; and 

(3) the method adopted for determining the charges.

Prohibition of Undue Preference and Undue Discrimination

-A licensee shall not (whether in respect of charges or other terms or conditions applied or otherwise) show undue preference to or exercise undue discrimination against any particular person or persons of any class or description in respect of: 

(1) the provision of a service under this licence; or 

(2) the connection of any equipment approved by the NCC.

Prohibition of Cross-Subsidies 

-A licensee shall ensure that his business under this Licence is not unfairly cross-subsidised from any other source, except in cases where the licensee is under an obligation to provide service at a place in an area in which the demand or the prospective demand for the service is not sufficient, having regard to the revenue likely to be earned from the provision of the service in the area, to meet all the costs reasonably to be incurred by the licensee in providing the service there, including; 

(i) the cost of equipment necessary for the provision of the service there; 

(ii) the cost of installing, maintaining and operating such equipment for the purpose of providing service there, and 

(iii) the cost of the trained manpower necessary to provide the service there; in which case prior approval shall be obtained from the Commission. 

Prohibition of Linked Sales 

-The licensee shall not make it a condition of:

(a) providing any telecommunication service; 

(b) supplying any Telecomms equipment; that any person should acquire from the licensee or from any other person specified or described by the licensee; 

(i) any telecommunication service other than the telecommunication service requested save where that service cannot be provided without the provision of that other telecommunication service; or

(ii) any telecommunication equipment not incorporated in the systems supplied save where the telecommunication service requested cannot otherwise be provided or the telecommunication equipment cannot otherwise be used. 

Arbitration of Disputes with Customers 

-If the licensee provides switched voice telephony services it shall include in the standard terms and conditions on which it provides telecommunication services provisions giving persons who have entered into contracts with it for the provision of telecommunication services by the licensee the opportunity to refer to an affordable independent arbitration procedure, instead of to a court of law, any dispute relating to the provision of these services which does not involve a complicated issue of law or a sum greater than such sum as the NCC may from time to time determine. 

-The arbitration procedures and the method of appointment of the arbitrators shall be subject to consultation with the NCC. 

-The NCC shall settle; 

• a) Any dispute between the licensee and the customer relating to the provision of the Services which the NCC is capable of resolving in accordance with the established procedure for redressing grievances of customers, and
• b) Any other dispute between the licensees and the customers within the scope of the powers given under the Act. 

Code of Practice on the Confidentiality of Customer Information 

-The licensee shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that those of its employees who are engaged in the licensed telecommunications undertaking observe the provisions of a Code of Practice which:

• a) specifies the persons to whom they may not disclose information about a customer of the Licensee or that customers Business which has been acquired in the course of the telecommunications Business without the prior consent of that customer;

• b) regulates the information about any such customer or his business which may be disclosed with his consent.

-The licensee shall within three months of the date on which this licence enters to force submit a draft of the Code of Practice to the NCC for its approval and if the licensee and the NCC fail to agree on the provisions of the Code they shall be determined by the NCC. 

-This condition is without prejudice to the duties at law of the licensee towards its customers.

Transfer of Licence 

-The licensee shall not transfer or assign its licence to another party without the written approval of the NCC.

 – A person to whom a licence is to be transferred shall apply to the NCC for a licence to carry on the relevant telecommunications undertaking on the prescribed application form and shall satisfy the conditions set down by the NCC before any transfer of licence may be considered. 

-Where the Licensee seeks to transfer its Licence to another person, it shall comply with all terms and conditions of its licence as at the date of transfer; and shall have paid all outstanding fees to the NCC.  

– The NCC may decline any application for transfer of Licence and provide reasons in the event of non-approval.

Approval of Joint Ventures 

-The Licensee shall give particulars of any of the agreements or arrangements to which this condition applies for approval of the NCC before the taking into effect of such agreements or arrangements. 

-These agreements and arrangements are: 

• a) an agreement with any person for the establishment or control of any body corporate for the purpose of:  providing telecommunications services in Nigeria which requires a Licence; or  the production of telecommunications equipment for supply in Nigeria where that production would lead to a monopoly situation which would not otherwise exist in relation to the supply of telecommunications equipment of any description in Nigeria;

• b) an agreement for the establishment of a partnership for any of these purposes and in those circumstances; 

• c) any other agreement or arrangement in the nature of a joint venture for the purpose of providing telecommunications services which requires a licence.

Associates  

-Without prejudice to the licensee’s obligations under these conditions in respect, in particular, of anything done on its behalf, where; 

• a) any Associate of the Licensee does anything which the Licensee is prohibited from doing under these Conditions or fails to do anything which the Licensee is in the circumstances required to do; and

• b) the Commission is of the opinion: 

• that in consequence the Licensee is seeking to or is in a material and substantial way avoiding obligations which would apply under these Conditions if the thing had been done or not done by the licensee; and

• that having regard to the duty imposed on it by Section 4 of the Act it ought to make a direction under this condition, then the licensee shall take such reasonable steps to ensure that the associate ceases to do that thing or otherwise to remedy the matter as the NCC directs him to take.

–  For the purpose of this condition a person is an Associate of the licensee if it is a subsidiary of or another body corporate controlled by it. 

Pre-Notification of Changes in Shareholding 

– Except as specified otherwise by the NCC, the licensee shall notify the commission of any change in the control of any of the shares in the licensee to which this condition applies and any such notification shall be given as soon as practicable after the change in question is proposed. 

Requirement to furnish Information to the Commission 

– The licensee shall furnish to the NCC, in such manner and at such times as the NCC may request, such documents, accounts, estimates, returns or other information and procure and furnish to it such reports as it may reasonably require for the purpose of exercising the functions assigned to it by or under the Act. 

Revocation

Notwithstanding any prior provisions of a licence the NCC may at any time revoke a licence by 12 Months notice in writing given to the Licensee at its registered office where the licensee breaches of any of the conditions attached to this licence and the breach has not been rectified within 21 days after the NCC had notified the licensee of the breach. 

– Notwithstanding any provision of this licence the NCC may at any time revoke this licence by 3 months notice in writing given to the licensee at it’s registered office in any of the following circumstances: 

(a) if the licensee agrees in writing with the NCC that this licence be revoked; 

(b) if the licensee ceases to carry on its business for which this licence is granted;  

(c) if any amount payable under Condition 17 of Schedule 1 is unpaid 14 days after it became due and remains unpaid for a period of 14 days after the NCC notified the licensee that the payment is overdue, such notification not to be given earlier than the sixteenth day after the day on which the payment became due; 

(d) if within twelve (12) months of the granting of this licence, the Licensee has not commenced full operation to the satisfaction of the NCC;

 (e) if the Licensee fails to ensure that it’s equipment is type approved by the NCC or a body approved by or accredited to the NCC; 

(f) if the Licensee:  

 (i) is unable to pay its debts, 

(ii) enters into receivership or liquidation, 

(iii) takes any action for voluntary winding-up or dissolution or such action is taken by any other person or enters into any scheme of arrangement (other than in any such case for the purpose of reconstruction or amalgamation)upon terms and within such period as may previously have been approved in writing by the NCC or if a receiver or trustee is appointed or if any order is made for its mandatory winding-up or dissolution. 

Exceptions and Limitations

-Unless the context otherwise requires the licensee’s obligations under these conditions shall have effect subject to the following exceptions and limitations: 

-The licensee is not obliged to do anything which is not practicable. 

-The licensee shall not be held to have failed to comply with an obligation imposed upon it by or under these conditions if and to the extent that the licensee is prevented from complying with that obligation by any physical, topographical or other natural obstacle, by the act of any national authority, local authority or International organisation or as a result of fire, explosion, accident, emergency, riot or war.

-The obligation to provide any telecommunication service shall not apply; 

(1) where there is no reasonable demand for it; 

(2) where provision of the service requested would expose any person engaged in its provision to undue risk to health or safety; 

(3) where the licensee is unable to obtain (either because it has not been developed or for some other reasons beyond the licensee’s control) anything necessary to provide a service of the quality or standard required by the person who requests the provision of the service and, in the event of dispute, the NCC’s decision as to whether anything is necessary shall be final.