Senate Moves to End Airtime Rip-off, Wants NCC Probe of Telecom Operators.
The Senate also directed the telecommunications regulator to strengthen enforcement of quality-of-service standards and impose appropriate sanctions on operators whose persistent network deficiencies violate regulatory requirements.
They maintained that Nigerians should not be made to pay for telecommunications services that have not been effectively delivered, stressing that purchasing airtime amounts to payment for a service and not merely an attempt to establish communication.
The Senate observed that telecommunications services had become indispensable to individuals, businesses and institutions, with millions of Nigerians spending substantial amounts on airtime daily to meet their communication needs.
The Senate recalled that the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, empowered the NCC to regulate the telecommunications industry, protect consumers and enforce acceptable standards of service delivery. Consequently, the Senate urged the NCC to investigate the billing practices of the four major mobile network operators and establish the extent of airtime deductions arising from unsuccessful, dropped and interrupted calls. the NCC was urged to introduce regulations requiring telecommunications operators to automatically reverse or refund airtime deducted from verifiably failed calls and qualifying network-related service interruptions. The NCC was equally asked to report to the Senate within four weeks on its investigation and proposed measures to address the complaints.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with THISDAY.