Poor Telecoms Service

Nigeria: Consumer Confidence Wanes in 2014 on Poor Telecoms Service

Why poor services continue Even after several feats might ... Primarily because of such fuel costs, average network costs in Nigeria are twice to thrice higher than in a number of other African markets. The multiple taxations of telecoms operators ...

Stabilise Network Operations at Yuletide, Subscribers Urge Telcos

Dr. Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman of telecoms regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission

By Emma Okonji

Telecommunications subscribers have called on telecoms companies (Telcos), to make concerted efforts in stabilising their networks this Yuletide season, to enable them make maximum use of the voice and data telephony services.

"We are celebrating Christmas and we need to make voice calls and send text messages to our loved ones, and the operators must do everything they could to ensure that there are no drop calls this season," some of the subscribers told THISDAY.

The call is coming on the heels of poor service quality delivery across networks, which subscribers have suffered so much for. This includes incessant drop calls, poor voice clarity, inability to generate and terminate successful calls, delays in delivering text messages, among others.

One of the subscribers, who is a telecoms lawyer, Barrister Jiti Ogunye, said the operators ought to have before now, concluded every arrangement to expand their networks, in readiness for the surge that must come in the areas of voice calls and text messages, this Yuletide season. According to him, operators must create enough margins for increased volume of calls, in order to accommodate more calls that would either be generated from their networks, or terminated on their networks.

Another subscriber, Mr. Dike Obinna said: "Christmas is a season of joy and expression of love, and these are expressed through voice calls and text messages, unlike in the past where people shop for cards to express their desires to their loved ones. For this reason, I expect telecoms operating companies to make adequate preparations to accommodate more calls to enable Nigerians enjoy their Christmas."

Giving Nigerians assurance that all will be well this season in terms of making voice calls and sending text messages, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo told THISDAY that operators have historic records of increased volume of calls at some festive seasons like Christmas and New Year celebrations, and have since made enough headrooms that would accommodate the expected increase in the volume of voice and data telephony this Yuletide.

"From our statistics, we are aware that during festive seasons like the Yuletide, there is always heavy traffic in some locations, as a result of the movement of people to areas that are full of activities. In the process, they generate heavy traffic in those areas, which can affect the quality of service, if not addressed early. For this reasons, we have made adequate provisions that will address the issue, and there is no cause for alarm," Adebayo said.

Asked if there are some incentives for subscribers this season, Adebayo said specific network operators have different incentives for their customers.

Telecoms subscribers who spoke to THISDAY about their fears during Yuletide, said in the past, in had been been difficult for subscribers to make smooth calls, following congestion of networks at Yuletide, as a result of increased volume of calls    registered across networks.

They expressed their concerns and called on the operators to ensure that subscribers make maximum use of their networks to make calls and send text messages this Yuletide.

Substandard phones contribute to poor network – NCC

Published on May 5, 2014 by pmnews   ·   9 Comments

Tony Ojobo, NCC Director of Public Affairs

Nigerian mobile telephone service subscribers have been advised to ensure their handsets meet the prescribed standard specification set by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to guarantee good network service.
Tony Ojobo, NCC Director of Public Affairs, gave the advice on Monday in Abuja in an interview with NAN in Abuja.
“Substandard phones have contributed to the level of poor services because there is a certain required power in cell phones that would enable it to transmit signals,” he said.
Ojobo said that the use of substandard handsets by subscribers was responsible for poor network services in the country.
He said it was the mandate of the Commission to ensure that the quality of telecom equipment imported into the country were of international standard and tailored to meet the Nigerian environmental standards.
He said issues of sub-standard phones were of a concern to the Commission, and advised importers to ensure that their products fit into the country’s standard.
“If the requirement is not met, then it will create problems in the network and that is why people call a particular number but cannot get through.
“This is not necessarily because there is no service but because their phones are not powered enough to sense signals because they are substandard.
“We are using this to reinstate that all vendors must be licenced by the Commission first and foremost. You can’t sell anything without having the authorisation of the Commission,’’ he said.
Ojobo said the NCC was working in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Service in airports across the country to seize any contraband telecom products at their port of entry.
He said that vendors who failed to comply with the rules or found guilty of selling fake phones would be penalised.
“We are collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service, where we have provided a list of approved phones.
“We, therefore, expect that at the port of entry any phone that did not meet the standard will be seized.
“I also suspect that sometimes some of these phones may have been smuggled in probably without passing through the entry points.
“I am aware that our compliance and enforcement unit have from time to time visited markets in search of substandard phones.
“Those equipment must be type approved by the Commission; if they are not, if our enforcement team goes out, they will seal up their premises and confiscate all their goods.

Share: