NCC: VAS contributes $200m dollars to economy, requires regulatory intervention


Success Damian:

The Executive Vice Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Professor Umar Garba Dambatta, has stated that the Value Added Services of the Telecommunications sector contributes close to $200 million to the nation’s economy.

Dambatta said this at the 83rd Edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) which took place at Digital Bridge Institute, Lagos on Thursday.

He said that a sector which contributes such a huge sum to the nation’s economy must be made to operate within the confines of the rule of engagement.

Speaking to journalist he said “The essence of the Parliament is to make the rules very clear so that nobody is shortchanged. The Value Added Services is a sector that is contributing close to $200million dollars to the economy; that generates employment and provides services to Nigerians. So it is not a sector that we can just ignore, however it has to play according to the rules of engagement.”

Speaking on the measures to protect the consumers he said “You don’t send text messages to subscribers if they did not solicit for them; if you do and you surcharge them, the NCC would come in to ensure that the consumers are protected; the Telecom  operator would be sanctioned for breach of rules of engagement. These are some of the regulatory frameworks we have put in place in order to protect the consumers, empower them, and make sure that the operators carry out their work within the ambit of the law.”

Ayoola Oke who delivered a paper titled “Value Added Service and its Benefits to Consumers” called on the consumers to be Prosumers by maximizing the opportunities which Value Added Services present to them.

According to him, the consumers can utilize VAS to power their businesses through bulk SMS in order to advertise and promote their businesses.

The parliament attracted various players in the consumer ecosystem. They include the Consumer Protection Council, MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile, among others.


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