Unsolicited calls and sms by telcos

Many Nigerians believe, and understandably so, that the coming of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) telecommunications to Nigeria is a revolution that marked a break away from the drudgery and tedium that defined the operations of Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL). Since 2001 when mobile telecom companies, notably Econet (now Airtel) and MTN came into the country, life and living have been made beautiful, easy, colourful, exciting and tenderly because, as against the old order, GSM users can now rule their world with the deployment of the technology.

This development has reduced the need to make frequent long distance travels in order to visit family and friends. It has enabled people to converse daily everywhere they are on the planet earth just as they make use of short-messaging system (SMS), multimedia services (MMS) and internet services through modems provided by GSM operators.

The GSM revolution goes beyond just phone calls, text messaging and others, considering the value chain which includes job creation. The system has created jobs for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians nationwide who are selling mobile handsets and accessories such as batteries, chargers, earpieces, memory cards, etcetera.

Some are into sales and repair of handsets, music downloads to mobile phones, unlocking of handsets. Many others simply set up call centres where they also vend recharge cards. There are also companies manufacturing handsets and other accessories as well as those who are into production of recharge cards and telecom masts all being part of the value chain.

It is pertinent to mention that apart from the huge licensing fees which each of the companies paid to operate in the country, both state and federal governments collect huge sums of money annually from these companies by way of corporate tax.

It is equally pertinent to note that the telecom sector is driving huge business in the economy and the Federal Ministry of Finance estimates that the sector’s contribution to the GDP (about $15.7 billion, amounting to 7.6 percent) exceeds the combined inputs of the manufacturing, banking, insurance and solid minerals sectors.

These are impressive attributes of the sector and, like many other Nigerians, we are fascinated by the impact the sector has made and will continue to make in the lives of Nigerians and the economy, but a lot seems to have gone wrong in their present operations that has made them not only reprehensible, but also loathsome.

We are particularly saddened by these telecom companies’ meddlesomeness and invasion into people’s privacy through their unsolicited phone calls, sms and subscription to their numerous products for which they deduct money from their victims’ credit. Industry experts estimate that subscribers lose N360 billion per annum or N30 billion monthly for services they never solicited for and all the network operators including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etsalat, are guilty of this offence.

Nigerians are particularly worried with MTN and Airtel which come up with all manner of calls and sms. Frequently, MTN sends messages to its subscribers announcing to them, through the number 307, that their MTN Backup subscription has been renewed at N50, or that their subscription to Facebook Daily has been renewed successfully and N5.00 deducted from their account.

Aitel is either calling through its serial number 09020869268—722 or is sending text messages almost every five minutes using its Aitel or AitelNG, congratulating the victim for qualifying to get extra credit and at the same time asking him or her to call 14495 to claim the extra credit.

For us, nothing could be as frustrating, more so when one may be expecting a deal or contract and waiting for the news on his mobile phone only to receive a call that is asking him in a sing-song manner to buy or change data bundle.

It is as irritating as it is frustrating, to say the least, and we join other worried Nigerians to ask the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which regulates the operations of these companies, to wake up and stop paying lip service to the complaints of consumers who are caving in under the burden of this rip off and invasion into their privacy. And we say that the time to act is today.