TELECOMMUNICATIONS operators in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat have rejected blames that they were responsible for the increasing menace of unsolicited text messages and illegal credit deductions from customers account.
Indeed, the operators combined currently control about 97 per cent of the country's telecoms market and share about 126 million active subscribers.
Defending these allegations at the weekend in Lagos at the repackaged but 75th edition of the Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP), organized the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the operators accused some unscrupulous foreign data miners that are exploring their networks.
The operators claimed that the so called data miners are working in connivance with guerrilla marketers.
Speaking at the TCP, NCC Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mrs. Maryam Bayi tasked the operators on protection of consumers, reminding them that without the comsumers, there can never be any market.
Bayi said network operators are yet to adhere to the commission's warning, stressing that operators must by all means stop unauthorized value added service (VAS) providers within their networks.
She however, reminded tham that NCC has since commenced the enforcement process on identified VAS providers and the network operators, with the hope to sanction any erring operator, which failed to change.
Reacting, the Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, who blamed the increasing drop in quality of service to weather conditions of late, said "the issue of unsolicited SMS should not be dumped on the doorsteps of the operator alone, because of the growing trends of guerilla marketers who go about obtaining, buying and selling of data captured from functions."
Goodluck noted that no operator would want to offer bad services or disturb the peace of its consumer, "we put filters into the system and we are seriously working on this issue."
Corroborating Goodluck's claim, Manager, Back Office and Complaints Resolution, Customer Care at Etisalat Nigeria, Kenechukwu Ofili, said that the guerrilla marketers are in the habit of deceiving unsuspecting network subscribers.
"It is something we are dealing with. I am not saying that operators are completely blameless in terms of unsolicited SMS, but the bulk of the text messages, especially those coming at 2am or 3am, by and large, are coming from the guerrilla markers" Ofili stated.
Giving a typical scenario on how the guerilla markers indulged in this practice, Director, Customer Services at Airtel Nigeria, Ajay Bakshi said, "sometimes in March, I attended a function and people were asked to drop their business cards. There, you have your phone number and email address copied, photocopied or duplicated by these people. So, some individuals play fast-one; find a way to duplicate the data and sell to people. The truth is that we must find a way out of this even as the public should be vigilant and not too forward in dropping their details with people".
Also commenting, Director, Customer Care Globacom Nigeria, Maria Svensson said that "I know for sure that my network has stopped such kind of bulk SMS. Now, other people are using our network to send such things"
In his reaction, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Watch, a Consumer Advocacy Group, Dr. Martins Iwuanyanwu, said that subscribers remained dissatisfied and called value for their money and protection on the networks.
He said, "the concerns are unabated. Now, operators are telling us that 'data miners' invade certain network or compromise their systems; while these things are happening; there are also technologies to counter those activities" Iwuanyanwu stated.
"There is concern that the trend may persist with subscribers losing monies if not properly educated on the illegal marketing and anti-spam SMS trends", he stated.
But Bayi of NCC urged the operators to install more anti-spam technologies to filter the unsolicited SMS passing through their networks.
The NCC said that in consistence with Section 89 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 which mandates the Commission to monitor all significant matters relating to the performance of all licensed telecoms service providers and publish annual reports at the end of each financial year, it had developed Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement strategies to achieve ethical market conduct and optimal quality of service in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.
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