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29.05.2015 Business & Finance

NCA Director General exits after 5 years in office

By Joy Business | Emmanuel Agyei
NCA Director General exits after 5 years in office
29.05.2015 LISTEN

The Director General of the National Communications Authority, Paarock Van Percy is leaving office after five years in charge of the regulatory institution.

His tenure officially ends on Sunday, May 31, 2015. He was appointed on 1st June 2010.

Mr. Van Percy brought to the NCA, a career in investment banking, corporate management dating back some twenty five years. It was during his tenure that landmark initiatives in the telecoms industry such as SIM Card registration and Mobile Number Portability was implemented. The initiatives have resulted in significant growth in various sub-sectors of the communications industry.

Mr Van Percy explains to JOY BUSINESS, this was primarily on the back of government’s sound policies as well as the strong foundation laid by his predecessors.

“If you look at where we were in 2010, when I joined the NCA, at that time we were talking about total access lines of something in the region of 17 million, today we have about 32 million. At that time we had 201 FM station authorizations, today we have in excess of 300. ISPs have grown from 35 to 53, TVs stations have grown from 14 to 29” he said.

“We have also seen an expansion in mobile broadband to about 60 percent penetration from zero about 5 years ago as well as new licensing regimes like 3G and LTE. All of these have been made possible by policy interventions and competent predecessors who laid the foundation and so I think it’s a collective effort,” he added.

Mr. Van Percy added his exit is nothing but a personal decision not to renew his contract.

“I potentially have two 5 year terms and I decided a year ago that when the first ends I wouldn’t seek a renewal. So it just a decision I have taken to go do other things after my first term,” he concluded.

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