NCC WARNS NETWORK OPERATORS ON UNLICENSED VAS PROVIDERS The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday warned telecommunications operators to disconnect all unlicensed Value Added Service (VAS) providers from their networks. The commission gave the warning in its `Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Activities’ report for the first quarter of 2014. It said that the unlicensed VAS providers were part of the reasons why telecoms subscribers were flooded with unsolicited Short Messaging Services (SMS) texts. According to the NCC, the VAS providers need to be licensed, so that they can be monitored to observe the guidelines of VAS operations. The regulatory body said that it carried out compliance monitoring activities on VAS Licensees from January 2013 to December, 2013 and directed all the network operators to disconnect all unlicensed VAS Providers. ``However, subsequent monitoring exercise carried out in March 2014 showed that the mobile service providers still have some unauthorised VAS Providers on their networks. ``The following unauthorized VAS Providers were identified: Qrios, Pnvasl, Tvemob, Urfilez, Double U, Velti, Nu Object, Double U, SEMA, ISYS and Forgetme Not. ``The network operators still accommodating these unlicensed VAS providers are MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat,’’ it stated. NCC said that it had, therefore, commenced enforcement process on the identified VAS providers and the network operators, as they would be sanctioned accordingly. It said that its activities were inconsistent with Section 89 of the Nigerian Communication Act 2003, which mandated the Commission to monitor all significant matters relating to the performance of all licensed telecoms service providers. NCC said that its Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department had developed monitoring strategies to prosecute its mandate. The regulatory body added that its activities were to achieve the Commission’s objectives of fair competition, ethical market practices and optimal quality of service in the Nigerian telecoms industry
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 13:07:00 +0000
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