Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has engaged relevant stakeholders in the Special Numbering Service (SNS) Segment as it continues to receive complaints of ineffective use and high rate of call rate.
NCC Director Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Yetunde Akinloye at the Stakeholders’ Forum on the ‘Determination of Call Termination Rate for Special Numbering Service Providers in Nigeria,’ said the meeting was convened following the extensive work of a committee set up by the Commission to look into the issues and complaints emanating from the SNS segment of the telecoms market.
A key concern according to her was the perception of high cost of delivering services to end-users in the SNS segment.
“The SNS has been in existence for the past 15 years, with some licensees actively engaged in the segment. However, we have noted some observations and complaints from different quarters on the use of these numbers. We have observed, for instance, that there has been no effective utilization of the numbers.”
She stated that the Commission had observed that the uptake of the numbers has been “abysmally poor,” adding that more complaints had emanated from the licensees regarding the perceived high rates and charges by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) who are owners of the major infrastructure used by SNS providers to deliver services to end users.
NCC Director Technical Standards and Network Integrity Bako Wakil lamented that the SNS segment of the market has not been fully maximized because of the cost elements involved; saying that, there will be greater benefits from economies of scale if the cost can be reduced.
