By Emeka Aginam & Anozie Egole

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Communication, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta has said that the draft regulatory framework for the provision of Value Added Services, VAS, in Nigeria would address complaints from the public , prevent service users from using short codes to perpetuate fraud, address the menace of unsolicited text messages, and   prevent anti-competitive activities.

The NCC EVC who stated this yesterday in Lagos during his remarks at the stakeholders consultative forum on the draft regulation of VAS told the gathering that, “Except we are determined to develop and encourage quality local contents in Nigeria by rewarding content developers who are the major players in the VAS segment of the industry, our vision will be obstructed”

Although the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Wireless Application Service Providers of Nigeria, WASPAN, picked hole on some part of the the draft regulatory framework for the provision of VAS, the EVC of NCC insisted that the VAS sector was long overdue for  regulation as envisaged in the Commission’s 8-point agenda, specifically on the item on promotion of ICT innovation and investment opportunities.

“The regulatory framework when finalised will complement the NCA 2003 and the respective licenses issued by the commission in providing guiding principles, standards and protocols for the VAS operation of the industry,” he said.

But in a swift reaction, the National Coordinator of WASPAN, Chijioke Ezeh in his presentation at the forum yesterday said that their association, the mobile network operators and NCC have taken steps to arrest the situation of unsolicited calls and messages through the relevant solutions with a view to protecting and education mobile subscribers and customers.

“In the spirit of promoting healthy public perception of VAS, WASPAN is concerned with the barrage of complaints that mobile subscribers have about VAS such as unsolicited SIM, calls spamming, forced activation, deductions of call credit, among others. We had addressed these isues in recent past and will going forward invest in education mobile subscribers and help them to be better informed and become more savvy in the use of their mobile phones and services that can better enhance the qaality of their lives” , he explained.

Also speaking, the Chairman of ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo in his presentation while listing the
potential impacts of regulatory provisions on the industry including threat to new investments, market upheaval, national security concerns and legal liability issues requested that the Commission instead of risking industry growth and sustainability should do the following:

*That NCC should, in the interest of industry stability and sustainability, discontinue further consideration of the proposals highlighted above.
*That NCC should either re-constitute the Short Code Working Group (which it graciously constituted) or enlarge it to include other stakeholders, including consumers if necessary. The Working Group should them be challenged to finalize the Industry Code of Conduct within not later than one month. This should be a comprehensive document, which entrenches the ideal of self-regulation, as is the case in other jurisdictions.

*That given that many of those implicated in the fraudulent practices highlighted by the NCC are entities to which the Commission itself has issued VAS licenses, NCC should review its framework for issuing VAS licenses. NCC can consider engaging WASPAN to provide ceriticates of fitness to persons applying for VAS licenses.

*That NCC continue to work with the industry to ensure uncompromising enforcement of agreed consumer protection measures such as the “Do Not Disturb” lists, timing and volume restrictions on unsolicited SMS, among others.