• NCC Restates Commitment to Telecom Consumers

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last week reiterated its commitment to protect telecoms consumers across the country.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who made the commitment in Abuja during the celebration of the 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer, said: “In 2015, Nigerian telecom consumers spent $5.6 billion on telecommunications services, and in 2016, they topped it up by another $1billion to make it $6.6 billion. This, among others, call for celebration and the consumer must be seen as king in every transaction that affects them.”

While addressing the issues with telecoms consumers at the forum, Danbatta dwelt on the preeminence of the consumer, and declared that the consumer would be the focus of NCC in 2017 and beyond. According to him, NCC took a management decision that compelled it to seek to amplify its activities towards ensuring the consumer enjoys a customer experience that is enhanced and content in time and quality.

“The telecom weak link, rightly or wrongly is the consumer, and there are no small consumers as those who scratch N200.00 worth of card and the one who spends N100,000.00 are equal,” Danbatta declared.

Danbatta’s 8-point agenda, which he launched in Lagos on January 27, 2016 and in Kano, February 12, 2016, which aptly captured the consumer as the key focus of the agenda, dwelt on facilitating broadband penetration, improve service quality, optimising usage and benefits of spectrum, promoting innovation and investment opportunities, facilitating strategic collaboration and partnership, protecting and empowering consumers, promoting fair competition and inclusive growth as well as ensuring regulatory excellence and operational efficiency.

He explained that while the second point agenda captured the consumer as it relates to service quality, the sixth agenda talked about protection of the consumer. The goal is to protect the consumer from unfair practices by providing information and education to them.

“This is being actively pursued by strengthening initiatives, to educate and inform consumers in their use of communications services and act swiftly whenever necessary in the use of enforcement to protect telecom services consumers’ rights and privileges,” Danbatta said.

On the menace of unsolicited telemarketing whereby consumers receive unsolicited text messages and calls, Danbatta said: “NCC has introduced the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility where consumers are expected to activate the same by dialing 2442. Part of the plan to actualise the year of Nigerian Telecom Consumer is the determination of NCC to ensure that the consumer experiences improved service quality in the year 2017 and beyond. The commission is also implementing measures to reduce Dropped Call Rate (DCR) to meet its industry benchmark of less than one percent.”

“It will closely monitor, track and review the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of operators by network integrity and technical standards. Greater efforts would also be put in compliance, monitoring and enforcement of set standards.”

Danbatta allayed the fears of other stakeholders in the sector, saying, “Our focus on the consumer this year does not in any way suggest neglect of the other stakeholders in the sector. Rather it suggests a recommitment to consumer satisfaction. NCC is driven by the desire to empower the consumer and it is rolling out new initiatives to achieve this.”

Also at the forum, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management at NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare, further gave insight on the significance of the declaration.

Dare said many would want to ask why the need for the NCC 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer? He, however, explained, using the analogy of the five Ws and H in journalism.

On why the consumer is important, Dare said: “The consumer is important as the oxygen that keeps telcos alive. The consumer is a major stakeholder whose satisfaction matters. The satisfaction of the consumer will help the telcos increase their revenue base. NCC as a regulator is mandated to protect, inform and educate consumers.”

On the issue of why, he said: “The campaign runs in year 2017 and beyond. Every time we seek to engage and explore ways to make customer experience better is the when of this campaign.”

According to him, NCC would continue to provide unique and timely information to empower the consumer, by engaging stakeholders in a constructive way to ensure that they work with the NCC, by ensuring quality of service across board.

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu commended NCC for the timely declaration.

“The Theme for the World Consumer Right Day 2017 is ‘Building a Digital World Consumers Can Trust’ it is therefore very apt for the NCC to declare 2017 the year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer since the theme of the 2017 WCRD celebration falls within the purview of the NCC regulatory activities and oversight functions on the telecom industry” the minister noted.