NCC harmonises short codes, reads riot act to VAS defaulters

Begins review of telecoms customer SLAs

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled the short codes harmonisation, while reading the riot act to defaulting providers of Value Added Services (VAS) to ensure compliance and protect consumers.

It noted at the second VAS stakeholders’ forum in Lagos yesterday that 233 VAS operators had been licensed for different services, which was enhancing service delivery in the industry.

Speaking further on the short codes harmonisation, NCC said that migration time for VAS providers, WASPAN and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) would be done within 24 months.

According to the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, collaborations will further drive the development and proliferation that can meet the customer’s need.

Meanwhile, the commission has begun the review of its customer Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the resolution of consumer complaints to service providers.

This measure is designed to ensure faster and more effective resolution of consumer complaints in the telecoms industry and improve overall consumer experience on all networks.

During the inauguration of the NCC component of working committee at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM) of NCC, Sunday Dare, re-emphasised the commission’s uncompromising commitment to ensuring superior consumer experience on all telecoms platforms.

The review will be carried out by a joint NCC-industry working committee, which the commission set up to ensure robust stakeholder participation in the exercise, and in furtherance of its consultative approach to rule-making.

Earlier in the year, The Guardian had reported how consumers registered over 13,880 abuses against the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in quarter one, which dealt more on poor quality of service (QoS).

Some of the complaints included deductions from activations of unsolicited value-added service (VAS) and telecom promotions and products, over-deduction (inaccurate charges), charges for unauthorised services, charges for unsuccessful calls, charges for undelivered SMS, refusal to change tariff plan, virtual top-up deducted but not received, and charges for caller ring back tune not downloaded, among others.