NCC Gives GSM Operators Seven Days To Improve Services

15th JUNE 2007

The Nigerian Communications Commission has said it will penalise the four GSM network operators if their current poor services persist.

The operators may face the NCC hammer next week, according to the News Agency of Nigeria quoting reliable sources.

The decision is coming after persistent complaints by subscribers over dwindling quality of services.
Many subscribers had complained that the hiccups in services had resulted in loss of opportunities, time and money.

A reliable source told NAN on Thursday in Abuja, that the operators would pay N500, 000 fine for each of the areas they failed to render good service from next week.
The source said the NCC had sent “directions” to the operators to improve their network and operations within seven days or “risk the hammer of the regulator”.

Some of the areas of concern include wrong billing, bounced SMS, dropped calls, unregistered and fraudulent marketing, and poor treatment of customers by the operators in the various customer centres.
Subscribers had complained to the NCC that the operators hired unskilled staff who most of the time used uncouth language to reply to complaints on poor services.

Another source at the headquarters of the organisation in Abuja, said the directions to the operators was a technical term used in the telecoms industry, which “connotes an indictment for poor operation‘‘.
The Head of Consumer Bureau, NCC, Malam Abdullahi Maikano, confirmed that the regulatory body had received many complaints on the poor operations of GSM companies and the complaints had been mounting by the day.

He said that the decision to sanction operators was not under his purview and referred enquiries to the Director of Technical Research and Standard, Dr Sylvanus Ehikioya and the Head of Public Affairs, Mr Dave Imoko, for more details.
When contacted, Ehikioya said the regulatory body had been meeting on the complaints by consumers on poor quality of service, but the meetings had been inconclusive so far.
He said the regulatory body was, however, not satisfied with the operations of the operators and treatment of customers.

Ehikioya added that the Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, or Imoko, would speak on the NCC‘s position on the issue.

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