NCC to compel telecom operators to return deducted airtime

Worried by the inability of telecommunication operators to comply fully with the Do Not Disturb (DND) directive which compels them not to send unsolicited text messages to subscribers, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it would ensure that airtime deducted from the consumers for this are returned to the them and will also impose N5 million fine on any defaulter.

Meanwhile, only 1.8 million Nigerians really understand the direction on how to activate the DND directive.

Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who stated this yesterday in Abuja, said that these measures would be taken to ensure total compliance and this is a measure of last resort.

“NCC imposes sanction as a measure of last resort, after we have given the MNO time to ensure compliance after we have monitored them to ensure compliance in order to ensure that the compliance is not selective. If a consumer lodges complaint to NCC that an operator sent unsolicited text messages and the complaints from the consumers, we will ensure that the airtime deducted from the consumers is returned to the consumer and will also invoke provision of the fine on the MNO the fine of N5 million”.

Danbatta, who lamented that the level of activation of DND by consumers is abysmally low, said the commission is not happy about the development as consumers would continue to be at the receiving end from unsolicited text messages sent by mobile network operators and we intend to address this drastically.