FG Mulls Imposing Fines On Telcos Ripping Off Subscribers

telecommunicationThe federal government has expressed angst over the incessant rip-offs by telecommunication companies on its subscribers, warning that failure by the companies to correct this anomaly would be met with stiff penalties.
The Minister of Communication, Barrister Bayo Shittu, gave the warning during a chat with journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to him, one of the ways the companies rip off their subscribers is through illegal deduction on unsubscribed messages.
“Nigerians are not happy about receiving unsubscribed text messages asking them to subscribe for one thing or the other without requesting for it”, Mr. Shittu said. “Personally, I have been a victim of this more than once”.
Another method through which the telcos rip off their subscribers, the minister continued, is through drop calls.
“You will have two phones side by side and you will call the other one and they will tell you the number does not exist and a lot of Nigerians are being frustrated by this.
“The third one is deficiency in broadband penetration. You will discover that Nigerian telecom companies do not have the financial capacity to get telecom cable and mast into every community and that is why some communities do not have telecommunication services.
“The last is the payment for data for internet connectivity and you may not consume the data before it expires, instead of rolling it over when you subscribe again, they will say you have exhausted your data and ask you to subscribe afresh”, Mr. Shittu added.
The minister disclosed that he has called for an emergency meeting between his ministry, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and all the telecommunication companies in the country to address these issues.

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