NATCOMS
prescribes N10, 000 free airtime for each default
• Etisalat
claims 2.49m customers activated code on network
There
appears to be no respite for telecommunications consumers in Nigeria, as the
menace of unsolicited Short Message Service (SMS) persist.Consumers are
complaining of increase in the rate at which unsolicited SMS’ flood their
mobile phones on a daily basis, describing it as ‘alarming.’
This is
coming on the heels of a declaration by the Executive Vice Chairman of the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, that more than
one million consumers had activated the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb (DND) code, within
two months of its launch.
However,
several consumers are still getting these messages, even after activating the
DND code.Already, an Abuja Court of Appeal has ruled that granting unknown
persons and organisations access to a subscriber’s telephone line by one of the
operators, MTN in this case, for the purpose of sending unsolicited messages to
the line is a violation of the subscriber’s right to privacy.
In view of
this, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMs) has
called for sanctions on erring operators and compensation for subscribers.
A document
that emanated from the Legal and Regulatory Department of the NCC, and directed
to network operators last year, showed that erring telecom firms risked N5
million fine if they failed to comply with the directive and further N500,000
daily for as long as the contravention persists. This was as at June 2016.
Meanwhile,
some subscribers, who spoke with The Guardian, recounted their
experiences.Shola Amodu, a subscriber to MTN, Globacom and Etisalat, lamented
that the menace became more worrisome for him, even after activating the 2442
DND code.
“It was as
if I opened my house for flood to come in. The two networks common with this
menace are MTN and Globacom.“SMS such as ‘Data Overload Deal! Yes! Enjoy data
overload. Get 6GB data for just N2000, valid for 30 days. You can share data
with your friends and family. Hurry! Dial *777# Now.”
“Your
history service will be renewed in two days and you will be charged N20 per
day.“Thanks for choosing news wire at N50 per month.“Yhello, your MTN Backup
subscription will be renewed at N50. Your subscription will be renewed on July
21.”
The most
annoying aspect of this issue, according to an Airtel subscriber, Nnamdi Ameh,
is that subscribers are charged and their accounts are debited each time they
received unsolicited SMS.
Reacting,
the President, NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, described the situation as
disturbing, noting that the NCC has done what it could do, which included the
DND code 2442 activation. “But beyond that after many people activated this, it
stopped after about two weeks, the messages returned in a more powerful
manner.”
According to
him, NCC needed to be firmer with its policies by ensuring those erring
operators are sanctioned, especially as “they have declared 2017 as a ‘Year of
the Consumer.’ NCC must go beyond the surface by taking serious measures on
this issue. I think the NCC should allow the operators to compensate the
affected subscribers, say a N10,000 free airtime as many times as they have
violated the order,” Ogunbanjo urged.
Efforts to
get the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo’s reactions on the matter
proved abortive, as he failed to pick calls put through to his line for about
three days, and he equally did not reply text messages sent to his lines.
Meanwhile,
responding on behalf of Etisalat Nigeria, Head, Environment, Compliance and
Public Relations, Oluseyi Osunsedo, claimed that the telecommunications firm
does not see much of a challenge with the activation of DND by its customers.
She said
several campaigns have been made alongside the NCC informing consumers about
the availability of the service and the steps to take to be either placed on
full or partial DND.
“As is with
most new services, we expect an initial teething challenge as customers become
aware of the service, and try to become familiar with to opting out process. We
however expect these challenges to be resolved shortly, and the complaints
become nonexistent,” she stated.
Osundedo,
who hinted to The Guardian that Etisalat had about 2.79 million subscribers
that had already activated the service on its network, explained that the DND
short code was specifically set-up to address this segment of subscribers.
Every subscriber who sends STOP to 2442 is added to the Do-Not-Disturb database
within 24 hours.
Meanwhile,
an MTN source told The Guardian that the situation is of great concern to the
telecommunications firm.According to the source, operators have control over
their respective ecosystems, and therefore apply a number of safeguards so that
third party content providers within their ecosystem adhered to industry
policies and requirements around subscription, advertising, promos, and the
opt-out process.
“However, in
the light of complaints received, operators are working with these service
providers to tighten and increase measures to address the issue.
“At MTN, we
have provided the *447# short code through which subscribers can manage
(activate/deactivate) VAS subscriptions, and based on customers’ reports we
investigate and blacklist suspected spam numbers. In addition, we continue
working to raise public awareness about solicited/unsolicited messages.”
The MTN
source explained that not all unsolicited messages are spam, saying messages
can be sent without prior consent by organisations, which have obtained
customers phone details.
“Regrettably,
consumers are often unaware that by providing their mobile numbers on any
platform – be it on electronic or published media, online or even in
person, – they may be unknowingly
consenting to receive promotional or spam messages from unknown persons
anywhere in the world,” the source stated.
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