Tag Archives: telcos

NCC releases short code to opt out of unsolicited messages from Telcos.

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The Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, on Thursday advised consumers to take advantage of the 2442 short code to choose the type of messages they want to receive from telecoms operators.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta, gave the advice at the 79th Telecom Consumers Parliament help in Abuja.

He said that the parliament, with its theme: Implementation of the `Do not Disturb’ (DND): the journey so far,’ was aimed at sensitising the public to the policy.

Mr. Danbatta said that the short code would go a long way to give consumers the right to choose the messages they wanted to receive.

According to him, following the barrage of complaints on the menace of unsolicited message, the commission swayed into action by mandating the activation of 2442 short code.

“The code will enable consumers to control the type of messages they receive.

“I am glad that it has come into effect and I urge all consumers to take advantage of this new regime by sending “stop to 2442’’ to avoid unsolicited messages, he said.

Mr. Danbatta said the commission was aware that for the initiative to succeed, there was need for massive public enlightenment by both regulator and the operating companies.

“It is on this regard that the theme of today’s parliament becomes relevant.

“The objective is to place the issue on the front burner of our discourse until unsolicited messages become a thing of the past,” he said.

Mr. Danbatta said the issue of consumer’s protection was very paramount to the commission, adding that consumers were kings in the market place.

To uphold the principle, he said the commission had put in place various programmes to inform, educate and protect the consumers of telecom service.

Presenting a paper on the theme, Ayoola Oke, a telecom consultant with NCC, called on operators to ensure full compliance with the 2442 short code.

Mr. Oke said that one major challenge of the policy was lack of awareness, hence the need for both the regulators and the telecom operators to be involved in massive publicity.

He called for effective complaint management by the operators and network management to block spam and screen out malicious mails.

Responding to questions on outright ban on unsolicited messages, Amina Shehu, Head of Legal, NCC, said complete ban was not possible because of e-commerce system.

PRESS RELEASE: NCC suspends directive on data price hike.

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Following the concerns that visited the directive to introduce price floor for data segment of the telecommunications sector beginning from December 1, 2016, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended any further action in that direction.

 

The decision to suspend this directive was taken after due consultation with industry stakeholders and the general complaints by Consumers across the country.

 

The Commission has weighed all of this and consequently asked all operators to maintain the status quo until the conclusion of study to determine retail prices for broadband and data services in Nigeria.

 

Recall that the Commission wrote to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on November 1, 2016 on the determination of an interim price floor for data services after the stakeholder’s consultative meeting of October 19, 2016.

 

The decision to have a price floor was primarily to promote a level playing field for all operators in the industry, encourage small operators and new entrants.

 

The price floor in 2014 was N3.11k/MB but was removed in 2015. The price floor that was supposed to flag off on December 1, 2016 was N0.90k/MB.

 

In taking that decision, the smaller operators were exempted from the new price regime, by virtue of their small market share. The decision on the price floor was taken in order to protect the consumers who are at the receiving end and save the smaller operators from predatory services that are likely to suffocate them and push them into extinction.

 

The price floor is not an increase in price but a regulatory safeguard put in place by the telecommunications regulator to check anti-competitive practices by dominant operators.

 

This statement clarifies the insinuation in some quarters that the regulator has fixed prices for data services. This is not true because the NCC does not fix prices but provides regulatory guidelines to protect the consumers, deepen investments and safeguard the industry from imminent collapse.

 

Before the new suspended price floor of N0.90k/MB, the industry average for dominant operators including MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, EMTS Limited (Etisalat) and Airtel Nigeria Limited was N0.53k/MB.
Etisalat offered (N0.94k/MB), Airtel (N0.52k/MB), MTN (N0.45k/MB) and Globacom (N0.21k/MB).

 

The smaller operators/ new entrants charge the following: Smile Communications N0.84k/MB, Spectranet N0.58k/MB and NATCOMS (NTEL) N0.72k/MB.

 

The NCC as a responsive agency of government takes into consideration the feelings of the consumers and so decided to suspend the new price floor.

 

Signed
Tony Ojobo
Director, Public Affairs
NCC

NCC defends poor service quality by telcos

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The Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, on Monday said over-regulation had impeded the quality of service being rendered by the telecommunications operators.

Mr. Danbatta said in a statement in Lagos that “some sister agencies tend to be overzealous in trying to help us do our jobs, and in the process create unnecessary difficulties for our operators.”

According to him, “this is being addressed at the various levels of government, and I can promise that the story will be much better very soon.’’

He said that over-regulation connotes something dangerous and harmful to the telecommunications industry.

The NCC vice-chairman said that the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 Chapter 2, Part 1 shoulders the commission with the responsibility of regulating the industry.

The Act provides that there is established commission to be known as the Nigerian Communications Commission with responsibility for the regulation of the communications sector in Nigeria.

He said that the full powers of the commission to regulate the industry, promote competition, grant and renew licences were also imbedded in the Act.

Mr. Danbatta said, “The power to facilitate investment and protect the interests of consumers, among others, are domiciled in the Act.

“It forms the major bedrock holding up the growth of the industry,’’ he said.

He said that with over-regulation, meant that the telecommunications regulator was too strict to the extent that it was impacting negatively on the industry it was created to protect.

“Over-regulation can mean that there are other bodies whose incursion into the commission’s terrain is creating too much discomfort for those operating in the sector.

”We are serious with our job at the NCC. But, we also know the reason for our existence; to create and nurture an industry that serves the needs of our people.

”That thought is uppermost in our minds, as we strive to create accessible and affordable telecommunication services across the country,’’ he said.

Mr. Danbatta said that in spite of a seeming convolution of activities which affect the health of the industry, there was always a good story to tell about the sector.

He said that the monthly data collection showed that the industry remained strong and defiant in the face of very challenging times.

According to him, while connected lines stand at 226.4 million for the month of July 2016, active lines hover on 150.3 million lines within the same period with 107.33 per cent teledensity.

Mr. Danbatta said that Internet subscriptions for June, 2016 stood at 92.2 million down from 93.6 million recorded in February, 2016.

Multiple Taxes: Telcos Threaten To Shut Down Networks

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Nigerian telecom operators have said that the over N10 billion annual multiple taxations levied them by local, state and federal governments and their agencies was threatening the survival of the telecom sector as investors may be pushed to divest from the sector which may in turn aggravate the quality on networks.
About eight states and their local governments have issued notices to telecom operators to pay taxes and levies exceeding N10 billion annually.
Speaking under the aegis of the Industry Working Group (IWG) on multiple taxations in the telecom industry, the operators and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday in Lagos said the survival of the industry now depends on all stakeholders, prevailing on the states and local governments to stop insisting on collecting taxes and levies on operators’ infrastructures such as base stations and masts.
The chairman of the IWG and Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management at NCC, Mr. Okey Itanyi, said that multiple taxation portends a grave danger for the telecoms industry if not quickly addressed. “The country may lose the gains and confidence achieved so far in the last couple of years.
The industry still requires investments in network infrastructure to ensure full access across the country, and to guarantee good and acceptable quality of service which has become a major challenge,” he said.
According to the vice chairman of the IWG, Mrs. Oyeronke Oyetunde, multiple taxation has been impeding telecoms growth in recent past.
She explained that a situation where a local government authority is demanding about N10million on each site from telecoms operators for building base stations in their vicinity, apart from other levies the operators have to contend with at the state and federal levels, would hinder operators in providing quality telecoms services to the generality of Nigerians, irrespective of their locations.
She noted that as a result of delay often experienced in infrastructure rollout, telecoms companies have only been able to deploy barely 20,000 base stations in the country, stressing that over 70, 000 base stations would be required in Nigeria, given its large size, to provide ubiquitous telecoms services.
“If you have a local government demanding N10m from an operator and you now multiply that by the number of Local Government Areas we have in the country, you would see that this is unsustainable in the long run for the operators.
It is either you kick the operators out of business or force them to pass the cost accrued to them through such illegal taxations their customers in form high tariff,” she said.
The President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Chief Deolu Ogunbajo, noted that between 2006 and 2007, operators were charged about N10, 000 and N20, 000. “And more recently, the charges in form of multiple taxations and illegal demand of some frivolous levies, have run into millions of naira. This is unfavourable as operators may have to pass this cost to subscribers,” he said.
A representative of the Association of Licenced Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and member of the IWG, Mr. Tobe Okigbo, said, “The operators may not have other choices than to push additional cost incurred to their subscribers rather than allow a telecom firm to totally shut down.”
Okigbo gave the indication during the maiden media parley of the IWG on multiple taxation which was set up by the NCC to address ongoing cases of multiple taxation and its potential dangers on telecom growth in the country.
The group called for urgent action by the government at all levels to support the industry’s stakeholders in nipping the incessant cases of multiple taxation and illegal and frivolous taxes in the bud to prevent operators passing the cost of the taxes on the over 96 million telecom subscribers on their various networks in form of increased tariff.
Via All Africa