Transplantation and Evolution of Legal Regulation of Interconnection Arrangements in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector

The adoption of legal frameworks modelled on those of some developed countries has been identified as the primary mechanism for the globalization of telecommunications rules and regulations. In this article, I will identify some significant international sources of influence in the development of the current Nigerian legal framework for the regulation of telecommunications generally. Specific attention is given to interconnection, an issue described as perhaps the most contentious in telecommunications regulation. I aim to show that the Nigerian framework has evolved in line with World Trade Organization’s (WTO) principles and has been modelled (at least initially), closely on the European Union Directives and Regulations pertaining to interconnection. My focus is to show how the regulation of interconnection arrangements in Nigeria has evolved over time from simply adopting foreign or international models towards adaptation and refinement of the models adopted to address local circumstances and issues. I will highlight the evolution of far-end fixed call handover termination interconnection and the encouragement of collocation and infrastructure sharing by all operators as specific ways that interconnection has been deployed as an access extension mechanism in Nigeria. The study of evolution of interconnection arrangements in Nigeria is an important example of the how international benchmarks and developed country legal rules have been adopted and adapted in a developing country setting. In view of the fact that by August 2010 Nigeria had more subscriber lines than any other country in Africa, regulatory developments in Nigeria could have some beneficial lessons for other African countries desiring any to any connectivity while undergoing liberalization of their telecommunications sector. This article is divided into two parts. The first identifies some major influences for the development of the current framework, while the second part concentrates on tracing the major milestones in the evolution of interconnection regulation in Nigeria. It will be shown below how the legal regulation of interconnection arrangements has evolved from minimal regulatory provisions initially, to the concentration of regulatory focus on dominant operators influenced by the European Union’s approach, to the current situation with universalization of rights and obligations and the deployment of ex ante regulation to minimize delay and other factors inhibiting any-to-any seamless interconnection. This paper was researched using a textual analysis of the laws applicable to the communications sector in Nigeria, ex ante sector specific regulation adopted by the regulator and ex post decisions and determinations by the sector regulator, international and regional rules on interconnection and the literature on legal regulation of interconnection arrangements