Politics
By Benprince Ezeh
THE Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says that the protection of its customer information and education is a top priority.
This was disclosed by Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC at the interactive session with media chiefs and news editors on Friday, September 4, 2020, in Abuja.
Dambatta explains that s the consumer is king and hence “our consumer-centric regulatory initiatives to ensure consumer protection, information and education have continued to top our agenda. To further empower consumers, in 2016 we introduced the Do-Not-Disturb, DND, 2442 Short Code, which gave consumers the power to opt-in or -out of unsolicited messages on their respective networks.
“We prioritised consumer satisfaction by declaring 2017 as “The Year of the Consumer” and set out with various projects to bring telecoms consumers closer to the Commission and their various network operators.
“The Commission also upgraded the NCC Toll-free Number 622 as a secondary complaint mechanism to further empower and resolve consumer complaints. We also issued Directions on Data Roll-over and another on Forceful Subscription of Data Services and Value-added Services, VAS. The two directions have ensured effective protection of telecoms consumers,” he said.
According to him, in 2019, the commission revised the NCC Consumer Complaints and Service Legal Agreement, CC/SLAs with the Operators in order to ensure prompt response to consumer Complaints, while we have also reviewed the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations at a Public Inquiry. “The draft regulations are being concluded for publication in the Official Gazette.
“We initiated the Mobile Devices Management Systems, DMS, in collaboration with other agencies aimed at protecting consumers from the negative effects of substandard devices on the networks and the health of telecom consumers. The DMS project, when fully implemented, will help in combating the proliferation of fake, counterfeit, and cloned communication devices in the telecommunications industry.
“Similarly, we have developed regulations on E-Waste. The regulations will ensure that we are also able to rid our environment of indiscriminate disposal of malfunctioning and disused gadgets, which are capable of posing health risks to consumers.
“I also need to mention our commitment to protecting the lives and property of telecoms consumers by getting rid of improperly registered Subscriber Identification Module, SIM cards. We conduct a periodic audit of the networks to ensure the Mobile Network Operators, MNOs do not harbour improperly registered SIM cards on their networks any further.
“I am happy to report that 19 Emergency Communications Centres, ECC, have been activated across the country. The 112 National Emergency Number allows Nigerians in distress to get help in emergencies. The Commission has received special recognition for its role in enhancing the security of the lives and properties of Nigerians and by implication, promoting the protection of telecoms consumers.
“The 112 number has become a major channel of communication during this COVID period as over 1,209 COVID-19 related calls were made to the 112 national emergency toll-free number between March and June 2020 from the various ECCs across the country,” Dambatta said.
– Sept. 10, 2020 @ 18:35 GMT |
Tags: NCC says customer data protection is key
