The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) says it is set to commence independent quality assessment of GSM services provided by telecommunications companies in the country.
Eugene Juwah, the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, said this on Wednesday in Abuja while defending the Commission’s 2012 budget before the Senate Committee on Communications. Juwah appealed to the Senate to provide it with adequate funds to ensure the success of the project.
“We have commissioned our own independent monitoring framework to give us an independent assessment of the quality of GSM services distributed by the major networks,” he said.
“This is a departure from the previous arrangement where we used the facilities of the service providers to run the assessment tests. So we require your kind financial approval.”
Juwah disclosed that the Commission had established training schools in Abuja, Kano and Lagos to help build the technical and managerial capacity of employees of telecommunications companies in the country.
“So we are asking for the necessary funding to complete the facilities in these schools for commencement of the programme.”
Juwah said the 2012 budget proposal of N48.8 billion was in line with the Commission’s determination to develop ICT and improve Nigeria’s international competitiveness.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Sen. Gilbert Nnaji, said the Committee would soon hold a public hearing to find solution to poor quality services.
“The issue of worsening service has become so endemic that one begins to have the impression that both the regulator and the operators have lost control,” he said.
“This committee will conduct oversight visits to your facilities and those of the operators to get to the root of the recurring poor quality of service.”