NAN-H-91
Code
By Constance Athekame
Abuja, Jan 17, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the commission is at the stage of enforcing the “Do not Disturb Code’’ direction given to operators.
The “Do Not Disturb ‘’ (DND) option enables consumer to opt out of the process of receiving unsolicited messages and it enforces the consumer to say stop sending me these text messages.
Danbatta said this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open a two-day inaugural meeting with Academia on International Trade Union (ITU) Study Group Participation.
He said that breach on the DND direction by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) would attract a fine of N5 million if a consumer lodged a complaint to the NCC that an operator sent unsolicited text messages to him or her.
“When we get this report then we will do two things, we ensure that the credit deducted from the consumer from this unsolicited service is returned to the consumer.
“And we will also invoke the fine of N5 million on the MNO to ensure total compliance.
“The NCC imposed regulations as a major last resort after we have given the MNO the time to ensure compliance and we have monitored the compliance to ensure that is total not selective.
“We are at the stage of enforcing this directive and we are busy enforcing it as I am talking to you,’’ he said.
The NCC boss however said that unfortunately, the direction was very clear to the operators but the level of activation by the consumer was low at one per cent.
According to him, take a population of 180 million Nigerians, only 1.8 million Nigerians really understand the direction on how to activate the DND direction.
“We are not happy about this and we feel the consumers are at the receiving end from unsolicited messages sent by MNO, we intend to address this drastically.
“We will make sure the consumer is educated, appreciate the DND to the extent that by the time we finish this massive sensitisation on the DND, we hope to reach a target of not less that 50 per cent of the Nigerian consumers.’’
Danbatta said that the meeting with the academia was to keep them abreast of the role the ITU was playing in the global ICT industry.
He said that the meeting would also enlighten the academia of why it was important for Nigeria to remain a key player in the activities of the union.
He said that experts from the commission and the Ministry of Communications would elucidate the importance the academia in the work of the ITU and expose them to the boundless opportunities for collaboration to exist.
“Collaboration between the University and Industry is an important component for national development.
“It promotes innovation and technology transfer, skills development training and knowledge sharing, Research and Development and entrepreneurship.
“I therefore enjoin you to participate actively in this two-day workshop as this will set the foundation for many years of partnership that will achieve national development goals.
“You can be rest assured that the commission will actively support your work and foster a good and mutually beneficial relationship,’’ Danbatta.
Some participants told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the proposed collaboration between the NCC and the academia would help in the growth of ICT in the country.
Mr Stanley Ebuwa, a Principal Newtwork Engineer and a lecturers in the University of Benin said that the meeting with the NCC was a good thing for the country and for ICT development in the country.
Ebuwa said that the ITU as a global body had set a standard that countries needed to follow in the implementation of ICT policies.
“The meeting is an avenue for the academia to be breast with some the activities of ITU,’’ he said.
Prof. Elizabeth Onwuka, Telecommunication Engineering Department of the University of Technology Minna, said that the meeting by NCC was a step in the right direction.
“It will help the academia to connect with NCC to serve users better,’’ she said. (NAN)
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Edited by Grace Yussuf