It is interesting to note that within its short entry into the sector, 3R Company has worn the title two times in a row, given that it was honoured with the pioneer title in 2022 as well.

“Tech Innovation Awards is the most celebrated industry awards which has grown to be the ‘Oscars’ of the technology industry attracting the crème de la crème and top decision makers in the sector,” says Mr Akin Naphtal, chief executive officer of InstinctWave.

“This 2023 edition that doubles as the 7th Tech Innovation Awards is a prestigious event in the tech sector that recognizes and celebrates the innovative and ground-breaking projects and initiatives in the business world,” he added.

The Awards are meant to acknowledge the incredible achievements of those in the banking, insurance, fintech, cloud, datacenter, software, mobile community and the users of those innovations, he added.

“We are pleased to inform 3R Company Nigeria Limited has been nominated as the Innovative Telecom Revenue Assurance provider of the Year,” the organisers said.

As a leading provider of analytics solutions for Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management in the global telecommunication industry, 3R Company provides direct transparency on all connected enterprise assets to bridge a critical gap in the telecoms sector.

The recognition is well deserved and resonates with TIA’s mandates of rewarding innovation, creativity and excellence in the ICT and telecoms space.

Meanwhile, receiving the award, Mr. Raymond Wodi, Chief Executive Officer, 3R Nigeria Limited,  commended the organisers of TIA for using the award as a reward mechanism to stimulate best practices and healthy competition for outstanding performances among players in the telecoms and ICT sector.

He said: “We are excited to receive this recognition for the second time in a row.  This is a testament to our commitment to serve the market in our unique way. The award is dedicated to our entire team in Nigeria and as well as our clients in the confidence reposed in us as we contribute to establishing an ecosystem where revenue assurance and fraud management become seamless through our world-class solutions.

Mr. Wodi further said the award is also taken as a challenge for the 3R team to never rest on its oars but keep pushing through new frontiers and continue to widen its scope of solutions to meet emerging needs in the country.

3R focuses on building and operating a global fraud deterrent and management solution suite that will nip revenue leakages and revenue fraud in the bud in the global telecommunications, oil and gas and financials industries for government and business worldwide.

The agreement-signing ceremony, which took place at the Commission’s Head Office, Abuja on Friday, June 17, 2022, was witnessed by representatives of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

The ICRC has been guiding the partnership implementation process to give expression to the decision to procure the Solution within a PPP framework due to the scope of the project.

While Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, signed the agreement on behalf of the Commission, Mr. Raymond Wodi, the Chief Executive Officer, 3R Nigeria Limited, signed on behalf of his company.

Speaking at the event, Danbatta said the decision of the NCC to opt for RAS was to bolster the efforts of the Federal Government in increasing revenue generation, especially at a time when the resources at the disposal of the government are dwindling by the day.

The EVC stated that the deployment of RAS would enhance monitoring and regulatory activities concerning Annual Operating Levy (AOL) administration in the telecommunications industry and confer higher levels of integrity and fidelity on the AOL figures obtainable in the industry.

“It is our belief that if we can be able to deploy RAS and ensure we get the true picture of what the Mobile Networks Operators (MNOs) are supposed to be paying by way of AOL, we would have accomplished an important milestone in the area of revenue generation for the Commission as well as for the government,” Danbatta said.

The EVC commended the ICRC for the guidance provided in the process of consummating the partnership.

He also praised the Project Delivery Team (PDT), comprising staff of the Commission, who worked tirelessly in ensuring that the project was brought to fruition and for all their efforts.

He urged the 3R Company Nigeria Limited to ensure effective deployment and implementation of the project within its scope, objective and government’s expectations.

In his comment, Raymond Wodi of 3R Company Nigeria Limited, thanked NCC for the opportunity given to the company to serve the industry and the government through deployment of 3R’s technology solution to ensure a more effective revenue generation from telecom licensees.

Wodi also assured the stakeholders that 3R is ready to meet and exceed expectation on the assignment.

Director, Internal Audit, ICRC, Mr. Togunde Dada-Hammed, who represented the Director-General of ICRC, Mr. Michael Ohiani, commended the NCC for the bold decision to deploy RAS.

He declared that with ICRC in the picture, it would offer required support for the process in order to ensure that the project’s objectives are realised for the betterment of all the parties involved.

“Anybody that is familiar with the trends around the world, especially in Nigeria with respect to revenue challenge that the country is facing, will know that the deployment of RAS solution is the right way to go, as demonstrated by the NCC,” Dada-Hammed said.

Meanwhile, the EVC has commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami for his role in presenting the NCC RAS project to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting where the final approval was given for the implementation of the Solution.

The RAS project is designed to be connected to the licensed telecommunications operators’ systems and will have the capability of capturing and reporting in real-time, the billing activities by the operators for the purposes of computing and assuring with minimal or no error margin, the accrued AOL payable to the NCC by the licensees.

When deployed, the NCC RAS will bring a lot of solutions to the industry, including a more effective and enhanced monitoring and regulation of the licensed telecommunications operators by the Commission.

Before now, the Commission had engaged and fully sensitised MNOs, licensees within the telecoms Value Added Service chain, officials of the Commission and other industry stakeholders on the Commission’s plan to deploy RAS that will instill greater transparency and increased accuracy in the administration of AOL in the sector, as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003.

It will be recalled that the NCC’s desire to deploy the most appropriate RAS in the Nigerian telecommunications industry began in 2015 when the Commission published an invitation to bid, for entities that may wish to offer RAS services.

The 3R Company Nigeria Ltd. emerged the preferred bidder and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), offered ‘no objection’ to the process and its outcome.

Due to the scope of the project, it was reasoned that the objective will be better achieved through a PPP arrangement.

This understanding explains the invitation sent to ICRC to guide the process, as mandated by its regulations.

Accordingly, the Nigerian Communications Commission set up a Project Delivery Team, which worked with a consortium of legal advisers, financial modelers and PPP experts with the guidance of ICRC, which ensured that appropriate steps required were complied with in keeping with the ICRC Regulations 2005.

Part of the process included ensuring due diligence of the preferred partner, which received a clean bill of health from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The Commission also subjected the software and hardware components of the proposed RAS to the certification of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).