NCC To Sanction Telcos Ripping Off Subscribers Through Drop Calls

The Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commissions, NCC,Umar Danbatta,has said the Commission would sanction telecommunication operators who defraud Nigerians through dropped-calls.

The NCC Executive said this during a meeting with reporters from the North West, North Central and FCT in Kano, where he presented the Commission’s eight-point agenda.

Danbatta said dropped-call rate is the fraction of the telephone calls which due to technical reasons, are cut off before the speaking parties finish their conversation.

He said this were being used by some telecom providers to deduct money from phone users as the fraction was usually measured as a percentage of all calls.

He said that the Commission had put in place mechanisms to ensure regulatory excellence and operational efficiency to maintain commitment to transparency.

Danbatta explained that part of the measures was for NCC to monitor calls, adding that any call that was not a dropped-call and was charged would be detected and the telecom provider sanctioned.

He added that “there is a limit to which a call can be dropped.

“We have put in place parametres to monitor what is happening, especially as regards drop calls, this will locate the operator to ensure that they maintain standards.

“When these parametres are analysed, we will be able to detect the drop calls from service providers and the operator’s attention will be drawn to enable it to address the problem.

“If we do not notice any sign of improvement on dropped call rates, then we will sanction erring operators.’’

access to the Internet would be free in Nigeria in the nearest future. (NAN)

“We are working on plans to improve data access in Nigeria and it is captured in the eight-point agenda of the Commission’’.

This, he said, would ensure that at least services were available, accessible and affordable to consumers.

He expressed the hope that access to the Internet would be free in Nigeria in the nearest future. (NAN)