NCC gives operators 2-weeks to decongest networks

A two-week ultimatum has been given by the Nigerian Communication Commissions (NCC) to all the telecom operators in the land to decongest their networks or face stiff sanction.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah gave this directive last weekend in Abuja while granting audience to the Director General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Ify Umenyi, said that quality of services issues have deteriorated in recent times, forcing the Commission to carry out tests which resulted in the discovery of congestion in the networks.

Media and Public Relations Manager, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka in a public statement made available to ITRealms Online, quoted Dr. Juwah as saying that the ultimatum has become crucial as an interim solution while the task force set up by the Commission finalizes its work where the operators would be compelled by law to do what they are expected to do.

He further said the Commission gave the directive after it carried out some tests on some 100 base stations out of which about 30 per cent of them were exorbitantly congested.

“We expect that within two weeks, they must be decongested. The ball is now in the court of the operators to carry out our instructions and if they fail, they will be penalized,” he said.

Juwah said this problem has appeared intractable but that the Commission is working hard to find a lasting solution, stressing this solution actually lies in the operators investing more in the networks within over certain period.

“We have to monitor these investments at some point,” he said, noting that the Commission will soon begin to publish the congestion levels on the networks as time goes on insisting that NCC will stick to measurement and enforcement of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) on the threshold for quality of service.

He however called for patience by the operators as the issues confronting quality of services will not go away overnight.

On the issue of tariffs, he noted that it’s not long since the Commission lowered the interconnect rates but is yet to reflect in what the consumers pay.

The Commission, Juwah said, is watching how this reduction trickles down to the consumer before embarking on another round of interconnection rate determination.

He further said the Commission is delighted that the operators are now beginning to invest more in their networks as some of them have announced recently to have secured more funding for expansion of their services.

Remmy Nweke:
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