NCC Directs Telecoms Providers to Grant 14 Days Grace Period on Data Usage

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed all Telecoms Operators to give 14 -days grace for subscribers to exhaust their remaining data after the 30 days expiration period.

Ms. Hellen Obi, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman NCC, Professor Umar Danbata, stated this yesterday, in Minna, the Niger State capital ,at the Consumers Conversation Forum organised by the NCC to sensitise consumers on the need to follow the right channel in resolving issues with their service providers.



The NCC also advised the consumers that if their complaints are not solved by their network provider they can call NCC and lay their complaints, assuring them that the commission will take up the matter and resolve it, including asking the service provider to compensate the subscriber.

“NCC has mandated all network providers to give their subscribers 14 days of grace after the 30 days expiration of their data if they still have data left and cannot recharge to get their data rolled over,” she stated.

Obi declared 2017 as NCC Telecom Consumer year as a result of the consumer’s importance to the growth and development of the telecom industry.

She added: “The commission which is the independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria declared Year 2017 as NCC year of the telecom consumer in recognition of the importance of the consumer to the phenomenal growth and development in the telecoms sector.

“The year of telecom consumer, which was formally launched by NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Danbata, is in tandem with the 8-point Agenda of the commission aimed to protect, educate, and empower consumers towards ensuring sustainable growth and further development in the Telecom sector.’’

Obi explained that the consumer conversation is designed to educate and inform consumers about their rights and privileges with their service providers.

The commission also articulated four strategic initiatives as key drivers of the Consumer Conversation including “Do-Not-Disturb” (DND) Service across all telecom networks, a service, which enables the consumer to stop receiving unwanted and unsolicited messages from telecom operators.

Others include, the NCC toll free Line 622, which enables consumers to report complaints pertaining to unresolved issues with their service providers, and improving quality of service.

She further said that the NCC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which mandates the CBN to advise the banks on enlightenment of their customers on fake messages that request them to send their Bank Verification Number (BVN) or account details.

dominique:
Data that hardly last up to 30 days, so what's the point increasing the validity again?

Can't NCC order them to reduce their data charges ni?

boman2014:
browsing free with my airtel with opera mini handler..............

Grundig:
I can't remember when I last had unused data on my phone. Even without being used the data somehow fizzles out.