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Lagos State-based telecommunications subscribers i, may not forget in a hurry May 18, 2017, when all players in the sector gathered for the launch of the “2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecoms Consumer” spearheaded by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mainly because fresh interventions and regulatory insights on telecoms consumers’ rights and protection were rolled out.
Prior to the launch, most mobile network operators (MNOs), Internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers inundated subscribers with telemarketing and unwanted messages that they did not bargain for.
There has been no choice or options to opt out, stop or control the kind of messages that subscriber received on their phones from the networks. Attempts to solve this and other complaints have been akin to a tug-of-war for the over 154 million subscribers in the industry.
NCC’s intervention
Since the new helmsman at the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, resumed as the Executive Vice Chairman, redress for telecoms consumers has been on the front burner, with the understanding that consumers made all the success stories the Nigerian telecoms sector has recorded since its liberalisation in 2001.
Hence, in 2016, Danbatta launched an eight-point agenda to drive the commission’s activities until 2020, and item six on the agenda, captioned “Protect and Empower Consumers,” focuses on consumers in the industry.
In this regard, Danbatta mandated the Consumers Affairs Bureau of the NCC to ensure the protection of the rights, privileges and interests of telecommunications consumers, including the physically-challenged and vulnerable groups, through adequate information dissemination programmes, policies and strategies that promote effective and efficient telecoms service delivery.
This gave birth to the national campaign of the Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer, which the commission kicked off in Abuja on March 15, 2017, and, subsequently, in Lagos on Wednesday May 17, 2017.
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, chief officers and top management from MNOs, ISPs, content providers and a large throng of telecoms subscribers domicile in the state, were at the Blue Roof arena of the Lagos Television in Agidingbi, Ikeja, to endorse the industry regulator’s campaign.
Campaign’s focus
According to Danbatta, who quoted the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2016, Lagos’ voice subscriber base stood at 19.04 million, representing 12.8 per cent of the country’s subscribers and 12.62 million Internet subscription, or 13.65 per cent.
“The state is a home to many of the key players in the telecommunications sector so it is understandable that it has been selected as the flag off city after the major event in Abuja. The NCC 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer is remarkable because the consumer is centre stage. We must also remember that these consumers together have made all the success stories we speak about possible in the telecom industry today.
“The telecom consumer campaign focuses on the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb Service Code, the 622 toll-free complaints line, Quality of Service, and concerns about the electromagnetic field radiation.
“The rates at which consumers receive telemarketing and unwanted messages from MNOs, ISPs would reduce drastically as consumers can now activate Do-Not-Disturb short code using the 2442 toll and forwarding unresolved complaints to NCC using 622 toll-free lines,” Danbatta said.
He also observed that, from a customer base of slightly over 400,000 in the height of NITEL’s glory, Nigeria now “has a combined subscriber base of over 150 million across the country. This boom and massive jump in mobile telephony have brought several challenges, especially in terms of reliable service, network upgrade, expansion and maintenance, and increasing demand for CAPEX injection into the telecom industry.”
“In the midst of these, the average consumer runs the risk of just becoming a number. This danger means that the customer suffers at times in silence in the hands of the operators primarily in the areas of dropped calls, failed calls often called Call Set Up Success Rate (CSSR), among others. This is exactly why this year is dedicated to the consumer,” Danbatta said.
One million subscribers activate 2442 code
The EVC said that two months after the national campaign began, there has been progress in the activation of the ‘Do-Not-Disturb’ short code, 2442. He stated that more than one million consumers activated the 2442 code within two months, while more subscribers reported their unresolved complaints using NCC’s 622 toll-free lines in the same period.
Danbatta stressed that, “The NCC is charged with ensuring that the average consumer gets the best satisfaction possible from the use of the line he has acquired. Thus, mindful of the pains and challenges of a growing economy and a rapidly developing industry, NCC intends to strike a balance. A balance albeit in favour of the consumer who of times is at the receiving end.”
According to the NCC Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Mr. Sunday Dare, the initiative was leveraging on the two key components of improving quality of service and informing and empowering consumers.
According to him, NCC has deployed several activities in its strategic plan to run a successful year of the consumer campaign with the support of the operators.
“Our goal is to make the consumer experience of the average Nigerian better. 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, QoS and concerns about EMF radiation. These are the areas the information provided in the course of the campaign would focus on,” he said.
MNOs and ISPs’ reactions
Mobile network representatives present at the launch of the campaign in Lagos took turns to state their stances on the consumer initiative, after the NCC had met with the operators on different occasions in Abuja on the subject matter.
They told consumers at the Lagos forum that the Do-Not-Disturb code was active on their networks and they had expanded their customers’ service networks in order to give adequate attention to consumers’ complaints and challenges in shortest time and best service delivery without any need to complain to the regulator.
Some of the operators who spoke at the forum were MTN, Airtel, Glo, Etisalat,Smile, Ntel, Spectranet and advocacy associations like National Association of Telecoms Consumers,(NATCOM), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies (ALTON) and Association of Telecommunication Companies (ATCON).
Reason Lagos supports NCC’s consumer education
The Lagos State House of Assembly commended the NCC for tagging 2017 the Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer, which emphasises the protection and education of telecommunications subscribers.
Obasa said 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.
Obasa, who was represented by Mr. Tunde Braimoh, member representing Kosofe II Constituency in the House, said Lagos State would support initiatives that would lead to consumers’ education and improved service delivery among operators.
He further stated the House would never shy away from issues related to telecommunications activities and stakeholders, because of the sector’s relevance to the affairs of the populace.
“NCC has done very well with regard to issues on consumer protection and the regulatory initiatives that lead to improved quality service delivery to the people. As the representatives of the people, Lagos State House of Assembly will not shy away from telecommunications activities, because they touch on the affairs of our people,” he said.
