The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday sealed the office of Nokia-Alcatel located in Lekki, Lagos.
The NCC disclosed that it sealed the office because Nokia-Alcatel had been operating without license.
The Head of Enforcement Unit, NCC, Mr Salisu Abdul, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen shortly after the sealing in Lagos.
He said that Nokia-Alcatel was involved in equipment manufacturing, supply and installation therefore it should have obtained the “Sale and Installation’’ license.
He said that Nokia-Alcatel had been operating in the country for some years now, and had failed to obtain license.
He said that after notifying the company for the need to be licensed, it only applied for the license about three months ago, but did not complete the process.
“As a matter of fairness and transparency, we decided to pay them a visit, and we however discovered that they only applied for license about three months back and are yet to complete the process for the license.
“Basically, we have decided to seal off the premises of Nokia until it obtains the requisite authorisation.
“The NCC is the sole regulator of the telecom sector in Nigeria and one of our functions is the issuance of telecom licenses.
“It is criminal for any service provider to operate in the country without license. We have sealed the office until they comply,” Abdul said.