The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has said that since it introduced the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) short code, over 21 million subscribers had signed up.
The NCC explained that the DND shortcode allows the consumers to stop all unsolicited messages on their devices, or choose a particular message they would like to be getting from their service providers.
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta while speaking recently at the 2nd Conference of African Telecoms Regulators on Consumers Affairs, said the NCC had introduced two initiatives which are consumer’s entered.
He said the two initiatives include the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Codes, and the NCC 622 Toll-Free Line set up specifically to ensure improvement in service delivery.
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Professor Danbatta who has represented the Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Henry Nkemadu explained, “the NCC has gone further to introduce two major initiatives as part of measures to empower the consumers. These are the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Code, which the consumers can use to control what they receive on their phones as unsolicited text messages or calls.
“With the DND, consumers have the power to stop all unsolicited messages on their mobile devices or choose specific messages they would like to be getting from service providers. I am happy to inform you that, more than 21 million subscribers have signed up for the DND as we continue to create more awareness on it through our various outreach programmes and other stakeholder engagement fora.
“The second initiative in this direction is the NCC 622 Toll-Free Line set up specifically to ensure improvement in service delivery. Consumers can call the 622 number to escalate their unresolved complaints by their service providers for effective resolution through the Commission’s intervention.
He said hundreds of ‘complaints’ calls are being received and successfully handled to the delight of the consumers on a weekly basis.
“Total Complaints received from January 2015 till July 2019 is 276,103 (Two Hundred and Seventy One Thousand, One Hundred and Twelve, with 95% of these Complaints having been successfully resolved”, Professor Danbatta added.
He further said that the Commission had continued to ensure that their licensees operate as viable businesses and deliver value to their consumers.
“In addition, to ensure that our licensees continue to operate as viable businesses delivering value to the consumers, we have commenced aggressive enforcement of compulsory compliance with the NCC’s Code of Corporate Governance for Telecommunications Industry 2016.
“We are also ensuring that telecoms service delivery is improved through continuous monitoring of activities of our licensees in order to treat consumer right and offer them value for their money”, Professor Danbatta noted.
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