[dropcap]N[/dropcap]igerian telecoms consumers spendings topped $6.6 billion in 2016, Professor Umar Danbatta of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said today in Abuja.
The chief of the telecoms regulatory agency, who said that rising consumer spending continues to fuelling growth of the Nigerian telecoms industry gave the market trend overview at the flagging off of the NCC 2017 year of the consumer programme, which also coincided with the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) celebration.
According to the NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, “in 2015, Nigerian telecom consumers spent a whopping $5.6 billion on telecommunications services. And in 2016, they topped it up by another $1.6 billion.”
The Nigerian telecoms consumers occupy the centre of the telecoms industry ecosystem, says the regulator who promised to check exploitation of telecoms customers in the country.
“Often ignored, exploited and regarded as an irritation, the telecom consumer fulfills that truism that a chain can only be as strong as its weakest link. The telecom weak link, rightly or wrongly is the consumer”, the telecoms industry watchdog chief told attendees at the Abuja event.
According to Danbatta, “the consumer who scratches a 200 naira air credit card is as important as the one that spends one hundred thousand naira. Both of them expect qualitative service from operators, whether in making calls or using data.”
“Often ignored, exploited and regarded as an irritation, the telecoms consumer fulfills that truism that a chain can only be as strong as its weakest link. The telecom weak link, rightly or wrongly is the consumer”, the telecoms industry watchdog chief told attendees at the Abuja event.
Nigeria is home to growing connected communities counting 155,064,812 active phones and Internet users split among GSM networks, (91,274,446); CDMA networks, (30,309) and ISPs (390,794), according to January 2017 market data by NCC.
The NCC chief says the dedication of this year to the Nigerian telecoms consumer is a “management decision that compels us to seek to amplify our activities towards ensuring that the consumer enjoys a consumer experience that is enhanced and consistent in time and quality. Just as their patronage is important, they must not and cannot be taken for granted.”
The telecoms regulator says it “intends to inform and educate the consumer with the sole intent of protecting and empowering them to make the right decisions.”
According to him, “the world over the consumer is a major stakeholder in any enterprise especially in the telecommunications sector. The consumer supplies the blood line that keeps the telcos in business and churning out more services. If the consumer is satisfied, the revenue belt increases.”
Under the plan, Danbatta told attendees that “I have convened a meeting with MNOs (mobile network operators) and infrastructure providers to demand that the quality of service must be improved upon immediately.”
On its art, NCC says it is implementing measures to reduce dropped calls and will focus greater efforts on compliance, monitoring and enforcements of set standards.
“Our focus on the consumer this year does not in any way suggest neglect of the other stakeholders in the telecommunications sector. Rather, it suggests a recommitment to consumer satisfaction. NCC is driven by the desire to empower the consumer and it is rolling out new initiatives to achieve this”, the telecoms watchdog chief said.
According to him, “the world over the consumer is a major stakeholder in any enterprise especially in the telecommunications sector. The consumer supplies the blood line that keeps the telcos in business and churning out more services. If the consumer is satisfied, the revenue belt increases.”