Senate summons NCC, MTN, Airtel, others over poor network, unjustified airtime deductions

Detailed summary

The Senate has summoned the NCC over persistent network failures and alleged arbitrary deductions from subscribers' airtime....

The committee, chaired by Ikra Bilbis (APC, Zamfara Central), has also been mandated to investigate the financial losses suffered by consumers and submit its findings to the Senate within four weeks, alongside recommendations for legislative and regulatory action.

The motion was sponsored by Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), the Senate Chief Whip, and presented by Lola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South), the Deputy Majority Leader,

According to the lawmakers, the problem particularly affects low-income earners, traders, students and small business owners who depend on mobile networks for their daily activities.

Contributing to the debate, Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), who seconded the motion, described the proposed intervention as a straightforward consumer-protection measure, noting that the problem affects virtually every Nigerian who relies on telecommunications services.

The lawmakers maintained that telecommunications operators must be held accountable for charging customers for services that were not successfully delivered.

The Senate subsequently mandated the Aliyu Bilbis-led committee to engage the NCC and the affected operators, investigate the complaints and report back within four weeks.

The development comes amid sustained public complaints about deteriorating telecommunications services, including dropped calls, unstable internet connections, slow data speeds and poor network coverage in different parts of the country.

Opening of the article, excerpted from BusinessDay. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.