Infrastructure Dearth May not be Cause of Network Failure

AS mobile telephones continue to flood the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC over the state of quality of services they get operators, a telecoms expert, Titi Omo-Ettu has said that infrastructure may not be the cause of poor quality services.

Omo-Ettu while doing a review of the telecoms industry at the 9^th anniversary of the Consumer Parliament organised by the NCC said there may be other causes which are not linked to telecoms infrastructures.

Before now telecoms operators have received several knocks from industry analyst over their inability to expand their network capacity thereby blaming the operators for network problems such as drop calls and failed calls.

According Omo-Ettu, a telecoms engineer the quality service issues are largely caused by poor network infrastructure saying however that that is not always the case.

He said that management skills, interplay of quality of services as well as proactive industry supervision are issues that operators should also look at to ensure that subscribers get value for their money.

For quality services to be guaranteed, he said the regulator must take measurements in all its ramifications using the results to diagnose areas of potentials stress while penalising intolerable lapses and managing intolerable performance.

The telecoms experts did not however spare the operators on the penalties for poor quality services adding that the regulator should give timely warning before issuing those warning.

He further said there must be a valid contract between the operator, service providers and every consumer stating that it is a document that must exist in the telecoms industry.

The contract, he said should give the consumer the right to seek enforcement while the NCC must assist in the enforcement adding that relevant laws should be reviewed in this regard.

Omo-Ettu who was firm on his suggestion that operators should be task on the provision of quality service called for a rebate and payment of compensation to consumers stressing that the last resort is outright revocation of license.

While calling for the protection of existing telecoms infrastructures in the country, he said that it is people that owns the infrastructures although they are build by the operators saying that as such the people should protect them.

In his recommendation on how to move the industry forward, he said, “operators should pay attention to the utility of installed infrastructures vis-à-vis quality of service measurement adding regulator must supervise measurements and apply sanctions where necessary.

Earlier in his welcome address, the executive vice chairman of the NCC, Mr. Eugene Juwah said that the consumer parliament is a brain child of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, established in September 2001 to inform, educate and protect consumers saying that the consumer parliament is the highest tier of the commissions outreach programme.

He called for the need to maintain an operating environment that is conducive to attracting investment by avoiding actions that can constitute a disincentive for investment stressing that the telecoms sector is very capital intensive.

While requesting for more investment from the operators he said that network expansion, improved quality of service will ensure national coverage.