ConsumerConnect reports Dr. Maida, stated this in his opening remarks at a stakeholders’ forum, which the NCC organised Thursday, November 16, 2023, in Lagos.
The EVC/CEO of the Commission also assured the stakeholders that the industry regulator would continue to work with he telecoms operators to improve the Quality of Service (QoS) in the telecoms sector, so as to enhance telecoms consumers’ Quality of Experience (QoE) in the ecosystem.
Earlier in his presentation at the stakeholders’ forum Thursday, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had hinted that telecoms consumers might witness more service disruptions as the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt, which the Nigerian banks still owe the Mobile Telecoms Operators (MNOs) has increased to over N200 billion.
Engr. Adebayo disclosed the banks’ unpaid USSD debt, through which the financial institutions are indebted to telecoms operators, had accumulated over the years from N130 billion September 2023 to over N200 billion as of November this year.
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The ALTON Chairman equally, highlighted several challenges the telecoms companies have continued to face in the country’s telecommunications space.
Adebayo, therefore, urged the NCC to quickly intervene in the lingering USSD debt issue without further delay.
The accumulated debt has started affecting the operations of telecoms operators across networks in the West African country, noted ALTON Chairman.
Speaking further on the strategic importance of telecoms sector of the country’s economy, Dr. Maida, EVC/CEO of NCC, asserted that telecommunications industry had contributed immensely to the West African country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth thus far.
He assured the industry stakeholders, that the Commission would continue to collaborate with the network operators in improving the Quality of Service in the telecoms sector while enhancing consumers’ Quality of Experience in the ecosystem in the country.
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