NCC set to harmonise short codes, USSD in telecoms industry

The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) is set to harmonise all short codes and USSD in use in Nigerian telecommunication industry. The plan for the harmonisation was recently unveiled to stakeholders in the industry at a stakeholder’s forum organised by the NCC at the Digital Bridge Institute, Lagos.

The meeting drew stakeholders in the industry from far and wide, who were sensitised on the objective and importance of the harmonisation of short codes and on the proposed migration plan.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer of Molcom Multi-Concepts Limited-The Project Consultants carrying out the Short Code Harmonization, Engr. Paul Dinwoke informed the stakeholders comprising executives from the Mobile Network Operators, MNOs, Bank Executives, Representatives from CBN, Value Added Service (VAS) Licensees and Executives of the Wireless Application Services Providers in Nigeria, (WASPAN) that the aim of harmonization was to bring sanity into the licensing and utilisation of short codes in Nigeria which presently needs proper alignment with the requirements of International Telecommunication Union(ITU) and International best practices.

He revealed that at the end of the exercise, short codes will be properly categorised and placed in bands, according to services and sectors and that a more robust short code policy will be drafted for the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

Also speaking, Head Fixed Networks and Converged Services in the Nigerian Communications Commission, Engr. Anthony Ikemefuna, told the stakeholders that the commission was convening the forum to garner stakeholders’ buy-in in the whole short code harmonisation process as traditional with the practice in the commission to always carry stakeholders along in their activities.

He disclosed to stakeholders that at the end of the project, some short codes would be withdrawn and re-allocated or reserved, while common short code allocations for a specific service will now be the same across networks as against the present situation where different short codes are provided by different network by the same licensee for the same service.

He also revealed that most likely after the exercise, common short codes used by network operators for services such as phone recharge, data services, call centers and others will be uniform across all networks to improve customer experience.During the event stakeholders were allowed to discuss the inputs from questionnaires sent to them by the commission about the exercise and contribute generally on the plan.

Mr. Edoyemi Ogoh, Assistant Director, Technical Standard and Network Integration (NCC) answered various questions from stakeholders and assuaged most of the concerns about the harmonisation plan. There were mixed reactions from stakeholders as most licensees claimed not to have received the questionnaire prior to the summit.

However, representatives from the banks appealed that they be left with their present short codes since they have spent a lot of funds in awareness. Most of the licensees sought for more time beyond one year before migrating to the new harmonised short codes. The Director Licensing and Authorization of the NCC, Ms. Funlola Akiode urged licensees to always update their contact details with the commission anytime there are changes in their organisations as the commission reaches out to licensees frequently to carry them along in NCC’s programmes, stating that failure to update such information amounts to violation of the terms of their licenses.

A period of two more weeks was therefore granted as extension for licensees to respond to the questionnaires to avoid any stakeholder from being alienated in the short code harmonisation process. The event came to a close with a speech from the Executive Commissioner Stakeholders Management, Mr. Sunday Dare, who thanked all attendees to the stakeholders’ forum and the project consultants for a fantastic job. He re-iterated the commission’s resolve to embark on more innovative projects like the short code harmonisation to improve and position the telecommunication industry to meet the dynamics of the rapidly changing Information and Communication Technology landscape globally. He told the audience to expect more of similar industry repositioning projects. He urged stakeholders to do well to respond to the questionnaires within the two weeks timeline so that the project can be concluded in good time.