The Interconnection of several networks linking thousands of devices – the Internet – and the resultant dependencies on the facilities provided, have become an indispensable platform for communication, commerce, development, etc. The reach of this platform extends beyond the traditional borders of nations and as such impact on one “area” affects another, thus no nation can stand aloof or remain complacent with the developments or its use. The Governance of the Internet has therefore become a major global issue.
While no one body governs the Internet, there are several agencies responsible for various aspects of it and its governance. Although there is currently no agreed universal definition of Internet Governance, the World Summit on Information Society organized by the United Nations, (WSIS) in 2006, came up with the following as a working definition;
The development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.
As Nigeria’s regulator for the telecommunications industry, the Nigerian Communications Commission oversees the activities of all of the nation’s service providers including providers of Internet services. A key objective of the Commission is to promote the provision of modern, efficient, reliable, affordable and easily accessible communications services and the widest range thereof throughout Nigeria, including the Internet, with policies and industry codes developed to address issues peculiar to the Nigeria and International best practices reviewed and adopted where they do not conflict with existing national laws.
Pursuant to this objective, the Commission designs programmes and initiatives,organizes events, carries out research on Internet Governance developments in other jurisdictions, promotes the establishment of a multistakeholder structure of policy development, participates in Internet Governance related fora within and outside the region, and partners with International agencies to drive growth in Internet access, growth and usage within Nigeria.
The following is a list of on-going (with status update), planned and proposed Internet related projects and initiatives the Commission has adopted in line with best practices. They include:
- Development of Internet Code of Practice;
Further to the stakeholder consultation as publicized on the Public Consultations page, the Stakeholder Forum was held and the Final Draft of the Internet Code of Practice was developed and published. - Review of the Nigerian Child Online Protection (NCOP) Policy Document
In 2010, a working group was constituted within the Commission and they came up with the NCOP June 2014 document
In 2018, an Internal Working Group was set up to review the NCOP 2014, and incorporate global updates
The current NCOP documents are listed on the Publications page.
- Development of National Internet Registry database.
The Commission documents information on all IP addresses allocated to Nigeria by AFRINIC. Such information is utilised for various regulatory activities relating to security on the Internet. - Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN);
The Commission is now a member on the Board of IXPN (http://ixp.net.ng/), and supports its mission and vision.
- Internet Governance Collaboration;
NCC is in collaboration with the following Internet related bodies in relation to Internet Governance.
- Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) (https://www.nira.org.ng/)
- Nigerian Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) (https://nigf.org.ng/)
- Internet Governance Forum (IGF) (https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/)
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) (https://www.icann.org/)
- Internet Resource and Infrastructure;
The Commission is in collaboration with the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), and Internet resource and Infrastructure information is updated on their website as follows:
- IPv4 addresses and allocation by country
- (https://afrinic.net/stats/ipv4)
- IPv6 prefixes issued by country (https://afrinic.net/stats/ipv6)
- ASN by country (https://afrinic.net/stats/asn)
- DNSSEC Statistics (https://afrinic.net/stats/dnssec)
Source: NCC
