As the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) was celebrated globally yesterday, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Prof. Umar  Garba Danbatta, has described telecoms consumer as the central factor in the organising principles of the Commission’s regulatory activities.

Prof Danbatta, who spoke in Abuja, said through riding on its tripartite principle of fairness, firmness and forthrightness, the NCC will continue to advance the course of protecting telecoms consumers from unwholesome practices by the service providers.

According to him, the Commission celebrates the telecom consumer every day of the year, and it is a self-evident truth that consumer is the lifeblood of the sector, adding that the efforts will be sustained in line with the theme of this year’s WCRD: ‘The Sustainable Consumer.’

“In keeping with its commitment to the tradition of celebrating the telecom consumer, the NCC is reiterating its commitment to safeguarding the interest and ensuring the satisfaction of the consumer as the central factor of the telecom ecosystem,” he explained.

Speaking further, Prof Danbatta said that the NCC has strengthened initiatives to educate and inform consumer and the Commission declared 2017 as the Year of the Telecom Consumer.

“Some of those consumer-centric initiatives, programmes, directions, policies and regulations, include the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Code, to which over 24 million subscriber have subscribed to in order to be able to control unsolicited text messages; the Toll-Free Number 622 as a second level mechanism for escalating consumer complaints not satisfactorily resolved by the service providers to the Commission for effective resolutions. Over a million complaints have been successfully resolved for the consumers through these channels,” he said.

In the same vein, Danbatta said, “We have also put in place regulations to combat e-waste in the country, working in collaboration with other agency to combat influx of fake and substandard phone sin the country, developed guidelines on disaster recovery to ensure consumers do not face the negative impact of network problem on service delivery for long.

Realising that telecom consumers increasingly rely on telecom platforms to carry out financial transactions, Danbatta said the NCC has inaugurated a 26-member multi-sectoral committee to develop modalities for protecting telecoms consumers from being vulnerable to e-frauds, while it has also taken measures to review its Consumer Complaints and Service Level Agreement (CC/SLA) by the operators.

According to Prof Danbatta, the Commission developed the 112 Emergency Communication Number, which can be dialed by a telecoms consumer in an emergency situation to get help from emergency response agencies through the Emergency Communications Centres built by the Commission.

Currently, 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have ECCs while efforts are ongoing to build ECC in other remaining states of the federation.

The EVC explained that the Commission has issued directions to protect telecoms consumers from being shortchanged by the service provider. Prominent among these are the direction on forceful subscription to valued-added services (VAS) and direction on data-roll over.

Prof. Umar Danbatta

Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO

NCC

“By our records, all improperly-registered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards across Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria have been completely deactivated,” the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has said.

The Commission’s effort in this regard is in line with one of the key agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to strengthen security of lives and property for all Nigerians.

The EVC said over the years, the NCC has tenaciously worked with determination and through various policy initiatives, to rid mobile networks of improperly or invalidly-registered SIM cards to ensure that all the current over 184 million registered SIM cards/mobile lines across MNOs’ networks have valid data that are traceable and not anonymous.”

Danbatta, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja, said “our efforts received a boost, following the implementation of a September 12, 2019 ministerial directive that the NCC should compel service providers to block all improperly-registered SIM cards, pending when their owners regularise their registration.”

As at the time the ministerial order was issued, the Commission, through its Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement team, had reduced the number of improperly-registered SIM cards on mobile networks in the country to 9.2 million.

As part of the Commission’s on-going regulatory interventions such as the setting up of the SIM Registration Industry Task Force, which led to several resolutions including the Industry Working Group (IWG) on harmonisation of SIM registration process with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure a clean SIM database, the Commission had, in June 2019, commenced the second round of comprehensive verification audit of MNOs’ SIM card registrations. This audit exercise was concluded in August 2019. The audit was specifically to ensure strict adherence by telecom operators to the provisions of the Telephone Subscribers Registration Regulations 2011.

Following the September 2019 ministerial directive, however, the NCC, within a week, intensified efforts by reducing the number of improperly-registered SIM cards from 9.2 million to 2.2 million.

“We have since initiated the second phase of SIM deactivation based on the Ministerial directive and as at today, we have completely deactivated the remaining 2.2 million lines on the networks. This is contrary to reports by a section of the media, suggesting that nothing has been done with respect to the issue of improperly-registered SIM cards,” he said.

The EVC assured all stakeholders that the Commission will continue to aggressively pursue the national objectives of delivering an accurate database of telephone subscribers in Nigeria, stating that the SIM data submitted to the Commission is constantly being validated for higher efficiency to support the national security objectives of the SIM registration exercise through NCC’s zero tolerance for deviations from the proper registration process.

“I also use this opportunity to restate the Commission’s commitment to the periodic SIM data audit, continuous compliance monitoring exercise on the MNOs, as well as constant consumer education and engagement against using improperly-registered SIM cards. With this, we would be able to, collectively, address national security concerns, especially kidnappings, banditry, armed robberies, cattle rustling and other crimes associated with SIM cards across the nation and to ensure that all SIM cards are traceable to their real owners,” he added.

According to a new report ‘The Mobile Economy 2020’ by GSMA Intelligence, the research and consulting arm of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), 5G is forecast to contribute $2.2 trillion to the global economy by 2034, with key industries such as manufacturing, utilities, and professional and financial services benefitting the most from the new technology.

5G has gained significant traction over the past year and is now live in 24 markets worldwide, supported by an expanding roster of 5G devices and growing awareness among consumers. The Report also states that 46 operators in 24 markets have launched commercially available 5G networks by January 30, 2020. One in five mobile connections is forecast to be running on 5G networks by 2025.

“The mobile operator worldwide investment forecast will be more than a trillion dollars over the coming years, focused on rolling out advanced networks to serve both consumer and enterprise customers,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA.

“Over the last 12 months we have seen the 5G ‘hype’ make way for reality: millions of consumers are already migrating to 5G, while enterprises are beginning to embrace 5G-enabled network slicing, edge computing and low-latency services.”

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A new ITU standard highlights that compliance with the Paris Agreement will require the information and communication technology (ICT) industry to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 per cent from 2020 to 2030.

The standard will support ICT companies in reducing GHG emissions at the rate necessary to meet the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°c above pre-industrial levels.
The recommended emission-reduction targets are the first targets specific to the ICT industry to be approved by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi).
The ITU standard – ITU L.1470 “GHG emissions trajectories for the ICT sector compatible with the UNFCCC Paris Agreement” – was developed in collaboration with the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), GSMA and SBTi. It is supported by associ​ated Guidance for ICT Companies setting Science-Based Targets.
ITU L.1470 puts forward emission-reduction trajectories for operators of mobile networks, fixed networks and datacentres. The standard and associated guidance will support operators in setting targets aligned with the latest climate science, the ‘science-based targets’ recognized by SBTi.
“This new ITU standard offers authoritative guidance on the pathway towards net zero emissions for the ICT industry,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

“The standard is an example of what can be achieved with good collaboration between key partners. It represents a significant contribution to the international effort in pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
29 operator groups representing 30 per cent of the mobile connections worldwide are already committed to science-based targets, reports GSMA.

​These groups include América Móvil, AT&T, BT, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa, Far Eastone, KPN, Magyar Telekom, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Proximus, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Safaricom, Singtel, SK Telecom, STC, Swisscom, T Mobile USA, Taiwan Mobile, TDC, Tele2, Telefónica, Telekom Austria, Telenor, Telia Company, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone.