STAKEHOLDERS in the telecommunication’s sector in Nigeria poured encomiums on Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) over its giant stride in balancing relationship between the telecoms subscribers and the Mobile Network Operators.
In several goodwill messages delivered by stakeholders in the sector, including the chief executives of the MNOs at the launch of the 2017: Year of the Nigerian Telecoms Consumer, they applauded the NCC for its leading role in bridging the gap between the consumer and the tel Lagos State House of Assembly, has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for tagging 2017- Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer (YoNTC) which emphasizes the protection and education of telecom consumers.
Leading the commendation was speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, who said that NCC’s regulatory expertise has paid off in the industry that boasts of about 155 million subscribers with about 20 million of them domiciled in Lagos.
The Speaker who was represented by Mr. Tunde Braimoh, member representing Kosofe II Constituency in the House, applauded NCC’s initiatives that led to improved service delivery to consumers, especially with quality of service (QoS).
He said the House will not shy away from issues related to telecommunications activities and the stakeholders, because of the relevance to the affairs of the populace.
It was a moment of joy for the regulation under the leadership, Prof Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, whose eight agenda for the industry was praised for setting the sectors in the right part for growth and sustained development.
Elated helmsman of the NCC, Danbatta described the national campaign on The Nigerian Telecom Consumer, which was first launched at the NCC Headquarters in Abuja, the seat of political power in the country as very significance.
According to him, it was significant because it was the first time the NCC will single out the consumer and dedicate a year of activities towards safeguarding the rights, protecting the interests, and empowering the consumer to make informed decisions – but above all, to place the consumer atop the stakeholder ladder of the NCC.
He explained that the initiative is derivative of the 8-Point Agenda of the present NCC Management leveraging on the two key components of Improving Quality of Service (QoS); and Informing and Empowering Consumers.
He said “the Telecom consumer embraces for us at NCC the various stakeholders we are mandated by the NCA 2003 to protect, inform and educate. Beyond the individual consumer who uses multiple operators and hence lines, we have in the stakeholder matrix other consumers such as the State governments, the national Assembly and MDAs.”
He promised that the NCC would strive to ensure customer satisfaction attains a level never witnessed before is of importance adding, “Our goal is to make the consumer experience of the average Nigerian better.”
He said: The drivers of the NCC 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer are the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb Service Code, the 622 toll free complaints line, Quality of Service, QoS and concerns about the Electromagnetic Field, EMF radiation. These are the areas the information provided in the course of the campaign would focus on.”
He described the NCC as an impartial umpire, a referee engaging and monitoring to ensure the interests of all parties are respected noting that “from a customer base of slightly over four hundred thousand in the height of NITEL’s glory, we now have a combined subscriber base of over 150 million across the country. This boom and massive jump in mobile telephony have brought with it several challenges especially in terms of reliable service, network upgrade, expansion and maintenance, and increasing demand for CAPEX injection into the telecom industry.”
Danbatta said that the year is dedicated to the consumer to ensure that it doesn’t suffer in silence in the areas of dropped calls, failed calls often called Call Set Up Success Rate (CSSR) among others adding that “mindful of the pains and challenges of a growing economy and a rapidly developing industry, the NCC intends to strike a balance.
In his remark, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Mr. Sunday Dare said that The Year of the Consumer will focus on two key areas: improving the Quality of Service; Protecting and Educating the Consumer. To address the unsolicited calls received by consumers, the NCC has introduced the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility where consumers are urged to activate the facility by texting 2442.
He disclosed that there is also the 622 number for the NCC customer toll free complaint line. NCC intends to increase the awareness level and equally the activation level of these two initiatives.
According to him, in the Commission’s determination to ensure that the Consumer experiences improved Quality of Service in the year and beyond, the it is implementing measures to ensure Drop Call Rate reduces and meets its industry benchmark of less than one percent (<1% DCR) target.
He further revealed that the regulator is closely monitoring, tracking and reviewing the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of operators by the Network Integrity and Technical Standards Department. Greater efforts would also be put in place for compliance monitoring and enforcement of set standards and that it will also enlighten consumers about the environmental impact of telecom infrastructure.
By Isaiah Erhiawarien
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