NCC Releases Report Of Study On The Impact Of DND Service 2442 In Effective Telecoms Consumer Complaints Management
By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
Complaints related to Do-Not-Disturb(DND ) service in effective telecommunications consumer management has drastically reduced since the inception of DND service ‘2442’ code was established, independent telecommunications sector regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), has said.
This revelation is contained in the report on a Study on the Impact of DND Service 2442 In Effective Telecommunications Consumer Complaints Management, just released by the Commission.
The 38-page report is broken down as follow:
•Introduction
•Telecommunications in Nigeria
•Telecommunications Regulatory Agency on Consumer Protection In Nigeria
•Complaints Management by NCC
•The Major Consumer Complaints by Telecoms Subscribers
•Introduction of DND Service “2442” In Nigeria
•Definition of Terms
•Purpose of Study
•Aims and Objectives of Study
•Research Questions
•Literature Review
•Definitions of Short Code
•Types and Uses of Short Codes
•Short Codes and the Provision of Value Added Services
•Corporate Benefits of Short Codes
•Use of Do Not Disturb Service across various Countries
•Do Not Disturb (DND) Lists: A Growing Challenge to Corporate Marketing
•Advantages of DND to Consumers
•Challenges of Implementation in Nigeria
•Methodology
•Research Design
•Research Methodology
•Sampling and Data Collection
•Research Questions
•Results and Findings
•Data Analysis…
•Conclusion
•Recommendations to Management
•References
According to the telecoms umpire, the purpose of this Research is to study the impact of DND service ‘2442’ short code in effective telecoms consumer complaints management.
The Research showed that complaints related to DND service ‘2442’ short code in effective telecoms consumer management has drastically reduced since the inception of DND service ‘2442’ as follow:
1. There was a 96.6 per cent decline in the number of complaints about unsolicited text messages from 2017 to 2019.
2. The percentage of resolved DND complaints within 72 hours went from 84 per cent, 75 per cent and 100 per cent resolution in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively.
3. Since the inception of DND there has been an increase in the total number of subscribers to the service. There are currently 448,985 and 22,038,864 representing 305 per cent and 250 per cent for partial and full DND respectively.
The Research also highlighted the key challenges that pose a threat to the full effectiveness of the DND implementation in Nigeria which include:
1. The lack of flexibility in the Opt-in and Opt-out options of the DND which prevents MNOs from alerting their Subscribers of new products and services in case they might wish to amend their status.
2. Inadequate awareness of the DND service by Consumers in the rural areas.
3. The DND service does not cater for Nigerians who do not speak English, or for those with accessibility challenges due to disability. In general, the introduction of DND service ‘2442’ has positively impacted
the curbing of the menace of unsolicited text messages and has therefore resulted in a drastic reduction in Telecoms Consumers Complaints.
Conclusively, to ensure the gains of reduction in the Telecoms Consumer Complaints, the following are recommended:
1. The Commission should champion the enforcement of 2442 short code by all MNOs.
2. As Consumer tastes and lifestyles change, the Communication should once a year, permit the MNOs to remind Consumers on the available Sectors for which they have promotional data, in case Consumers might wish to adjust their DND status.
3. There should be additional effort in raising awareness of DND to Telecoms Subscribers in rural areas, using the most appropriate method.
4. As the additional review enjoyed by MNOs is of importance for Business Continuity, the Commission can encourage them to broadcast promotional materials for their clients on their official website.
5. All the Commission’s information concerning DND in either audio, print or electronic formats should also be made available in accessible formats for the 20 Million Nigerians living with disability.
6. A large proportion of the Nigerian population would be unable to use DND due to language limitations as complaints can only be lodged in English, which is disadvantageous to people in rural area as these ones find it very hard to communicate in English. As well as having these materials in the major local languages, the Commission could also consider developing a free low data App where all the major information about the Commission and Regulatory propaganda is posted in various local languages.
7. The Commission should develop a FAQ explaining what unsolicited commercial communications are all about, the risks/implications of using them, including how to opt out of them especially where they are accruing subscription costs.
Although the problem of unsolicited calls and messages to Consumers have been relatively addressed, Consumers still grapple with other challenges of inaccurate billing, poor network service, unauthorized SIM replacement, data bandwidth depletion. However, as the Commission has been able to effectively address the earlier challenge, efforts are being made continually to find lasting solutions to the other Consumer complaints, and require the full and active participation and support of all Stakeholders in the
value chain.
The Commission captures the philosophical and historical background to the study in the Executive Summary. Telecommunications, which is a transmission of signals over long distances for the purpose of sharing information is considered today as a vital engine of economic growth and an essential infrastructure that promotes the development of other sectors such as agriculture, education, industry, health, banking, defense, transportation and tourism. Communication technology as a matter of fact as evidenced globally, is a major component in the new era of globalization, transforming the world to a knowledge driven economy, and a connected world.
The impact of the Communications Sector has been succinctly felt in Nigeria as it has globally. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as the Telecoms Regulator in Nigeria has guided the growth of the Sector from less than 400,000 phones lines in year 2000, to 205,252,058 active lines by September 2020. Along the way, the Consumer has remained King and a primary Stakeholder in the Commission’s discharge of her mandate of ubiquitous and affordable Telecommunications Services for all in Nigeria. In addition, the Nigerian Communications (NCA) Act 2003 in Section 1(g), mandates the Commission to “Protect the rights and interest of service providers and consumers within Nigeria:” and Sector 7(1) focuses on Consumer Protection and Quality of Service1. The Commission has various channels through which it relates to the Consumers such as The Consumer Outreach Programmes (COP); The Consumer Town Hall Meetings (CTM); Monitoring Telecoms providers helplines daily; Conducting of bi-annual nationwide surveys on Consumer satisfaction; Provision of Second Level Support to Consumers who have called their Service Providers but have their issues either unresolved or unsatisfactorily resolved; Monitoring of NCC outsourced contact center; and Coordinating the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF). In addition, it has provided various options with which Consumers can complaint directly to the Commission about any service problem, namely, through the Commission’s Consumer Portal email address, the Twitter handle, the Facebook Page, the Dedicated Toll free number, by sending in letters and SMS to the Commission, and by intervening in Dispute Resolutions between the Operators and the Consumers.
It can be said that the NCC has worked assiduously towards the protection of the Consumers in the Telecommunication Industry. However, notwithstanding the initiatives listed above and the above Regulatory efforts, Consumers still grapple with various occasioned challenges in their use of mobile services, and Consumer complaints increased with the major complaints being unacceptable Service Quality by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the following areas: Billing issues; Value Added Services, issues; SMS issues, Call set-up, Data Services issues, SIM issues, recharge card issues amongst others. Unsolicited text messages was deemed one of the major issues and main area of complaint amongst the vast majority of Consumers.
Due to serious complaints of unsolicited text messages by the Consumers the Nigerian Communications Commission as a foremost Regulator, after various efforts at mitigating the problem, issued a Direction to the Mobile Network Operators with effect from July 1, 2016, to activate the “DO NOT DISTURB” facility which gives Subscribers the freedom to choose to receive or not to receive Promotional messages from the various networks and other telemarketers through their phones. With this Direction, the Operators were mandated to dedicate a common Short Code (2442) which will provide Subscribers control to reject all promotional SMS and calls (Full DND), or from only select categories of telemarketers (partial DND).
One thing which an analyst with a sharp eye can easily see in this report is the absence of consultants meaning NCC staffers managed this process and saved the Commission some money that could have been paid to consultants.
- With additional reporting by Angeline Mgbele, Correspondent Abuja.
Editor’s Note: Story is a Cyber Era Exclusive. Kindly follow the link below for the full report: https://www.ncc.gov.ng/accessible/documents/975-study-on-the-impact-of-dnd-service-2442-short-code-in-effective-telecoms-consumer-complaints-management/file
