NCC sets up task force on quality of service

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, has inaugurated a Task Force within the Commission to address all issues concerning quality of services in the telecommunications network in the country.

Dr. Juwah who gave this indication during a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja last week by the Association of Telecom Operating companies of Nigeria (ALTON) led by its chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said that the issue of addressing the Quality of Services (QoS), being rendered by the various networks is a matter of urgency to the Commission.

The Commission, he said, would intensify efforts to ensure that the quality of services being delivered to the consumers is acceptable.

“We want the operators to continue to do only those things that will improve the quality of services and discontinue those that degrade the quality,” he told ALTON members comprise of the operating companies, mainly Zain, MTN, Globacom, Etisalat, Starcomms, Multilinks, Visafone, and ZoomMobile among others.

The NCC boss also said that NCC has set up a Task Force within the Commission to come up with short, medium and long term solutions on the issues of QoS.

“In the course of their work, we will have reason to be interacting with the service providers at various levels and I want to use this opportunity to seek your cooperation in bringing a lasting solution to the issue of Quality of service in the various networks,” he said.

Equally, he said the Commission would soon meet with the CEO of the operating companies to address this issue, stressing that NCC would work towards ensuring that services on offer are affordable.

“This is why we will encourage the operators to do more in offering services at affordable tariffs. We want to see more competition at play. We want to see costs of such services like Short Messaging Services (SMS), to coming lower than what the operators are offering today,” he said.

Dr. Juwah further told his guests that NCC would continue to encourage compliance to all regulations that will contribute to tariff reduction as well as continuing to foster competition by encouraging new entrants into the market at all times whenever possible.

“We also expect the operators to be responsive to their subscribers. Without the subscribers, no operator will exist and sustain their services so we want the operators to be very responsive to their complaints. On our part, we promise to be transparent, fair, firm, and forthright,” he said.

Reiterating his earlier resolve to be consultative of the industry, Dr. Juwah said he believes that wide industry consultations in the Commission’s activities will bring about effective and participatory regulatory process.

“I also believe that consultative regulation of the industry will bolster the confidence of the stakeholders and engender a conducive environment necessary for further investments in the sector. So, it bears repeating in this occasion that we shall be consultative of the industry, especially members of ALTON who are very important stakeholders,” he said.

On SIM Card registration, Dr. Juwah that the Commission is currently consulting with different levels of government with a view to articulating the best approach to the registration of existing subscribers in the network while the service providers continue with the registration of new subscribers.

Earlier in his address, ALTON chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo requested the Commission to develop an incentive-driven bailout plan for some of its members with difficulties in payment of their regulatory dues for the sustenance of the industry growth and protection of ailing networks.

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