The Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, has assured that it would continue to put pressure on telecom operators in the country to provide optimal services to customers.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Eugene Jumah, gave the assurance in a message to the 62nd edition of the NCC Consumer Outreach Programme, held at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.
Represented by Femi Atoyebi, the Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs, Mr. Jumah said the commission would sanction any service provider for unapproved increase in tariff and poor services.
He allayed the fears that the use of mobile phones has adverse effect on the health of users, saying the claim had no scientific basis.
“There has not been any scientific proof that radiation from mobile phones is harmful to the health of subscribers,” he said.
According to him, all telecommunication masts have recommended heights, to which the commission always ensured strict compliance to prevent harmful radiation from getting down to human beings and animals around.
“As it is now, for someone to be affected by radiation from masts, that person must have climbed the mast naked. If such radiation is so harmful, all the people in United State of America would have died, because they have been using it a long time ago,” he said.
He said the consumer outreach programme was aimed at bringing together telecom service providers to address some of the challenges of their subscribers.
“It is an avenue to rub minds on issues developing within the telecom industries. We give opportunity to the customers to have a voice to ask many questions, and it is a forum for the commission to also make enquiries and if possible make suggestions on how to move the industry forward,” he added.
Most subscribers at the forum described the services offered by telecom operators as awful and called on the NCC to live up to its responsibilities.
Timothy Tanko, a staff of the university, said customers were having difficulties accessing the networks, and urged the operators to improve their services.
Ibrahim Ndako, an Electrical Engineering student, urged the NCC to direct service providers to desist from sending unsolicited text messages to subscribers.
Esther Moses, another student, advised the service providers to improve on their relationship with customers, saying the attitude of their personnel needed to change for the better.
In their separate responses, representatives of major telecom operators pledged to forward the complaints of the subscribers to the management of their companies.
(NAN)
