By 
By Chinedu James
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that key regulatory resolutions such as automatic renewal and forceful subscription of Value Added Service (VAS) amongst others which were discussed at the last edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) are set for implementation.
The telecom regulatory body revealed this at the 84th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) held recently in Abuja with the theme, ‘Improving Service Delivery to Telecom Consumers: Key to Industry Sustainability’.
The directive on for telecom service providers to begin the implementation of data rollover became effective on June 26th, 2018.
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta while speaking at the event spoke on the relevance of the theme to the commission’s effort to improving the quality of service in the industry and providing sustainability. He stressed that the regulatory resolutions underscore the NCC’s position that the ‘consumer is king.’
The Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Alhaji Ismali Adedigba, while presenting the welcome address of the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam noted the interface organized by the commission has always provided a ground for interaction with telecom consumers. He further stated that the resolutions of the last edition of the TCP have been passed for immediate implementation.
“I am happy to inform you that key resolutions reached at the 83rd Edition of the TCP held in Lagos in April 2018 have been documented and forwarded to all relevant stakeholders for immediate implementation.
“Some of the resolutions are, Stop Value Added Services (VAS) automatic renewal and forceful subscription, and Implement a 2-step authorization of opt-in process for VAS subscription. On the strength of the above resolutions, the Commission has issued two directions and one of the directions became effective on June 26th, 2018,” he said.
The 83rd edition of the TCP held in Lagos had as its theme, ‘Value Added Services and Benefits to Consumers’ and was attended by stakeholders in the telecom industry with deliberations on the education and enlightenment of VAS and a strict directive to service providers on Do-Not-Disturb (DND) amongst others.
Danbatta further reiterated that the commission remains committed to ensure that consumers are duly satisfied by the operators while also addressing the challenges they face and promoting healthy competition among the operating companies.
“The term ‘Service Delivery’ embodies such elements as Quality of Service (QoS), Quality of Experience (QoE), Effective Customer Complaint Resolution, conducive ambience for customers at care centres (CCs), absence of nuisance calls or text messages that sometimes, irritate and annoy consumers.
“The popular clause that “Consumer is King” is held in high esteem in the Commission because everything we do focus on how the consumers can get maximum value for money spent while also promoting competition among the telecom operating companies.
“Let me state that the commission is committed to protecting the interest of telecoms consumers at all time while also finding ways to addressing challenges facing the service providers,” he said.
The Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) is an interactive platform organized by NCC to engage consumers and service providers aimed at proffering solutions to industry issues, consumer complaints and concerns.
