NCC decries poor data services’ quality

….Urges ISPs to invest on infrastructure
Following the incessant complaint from subscribers on the poor speed of Internet services across the networks, the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has called on internet service providers (ISPs) to invest more on infrastructure to ensure improvement in what is currently available.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who expressed the commission’s position in an interview recently with one of the nation’s television networks,

decried how subscribers are fleeced by the operators through snail speed of internet services, and demanded that more value should be given for money spent on data.

Danbatta also urged both the operators and the internet service providers to invest more on infrastructure to ensure improvement in what is currently available.

He assured that government would look for a way of assisting network providers to ensure adequate infrastructure that would aid robust internet and improve data services.

He said, “Data is becoming a major issue and infrastructure for data is a major headache in Nigeria. To ensure that we enjoy what we pay for, there is need for more infrastructure deployment.

“The statistics we have supports the claim that voice subscription has dropped to 148milion (10 per cent). But the data subscription is going up.

One will expect the telecom companies to make more money from mobile voice services and SMS. But consumers are very clever, migrating from high tariff and poor voice services and SMS to data services.

“Unfortunately, the data services enable subscribers enjoy voice services like Whatsapp and so on. We are in a situation where we need value for money.

There is an argument that with the infrastructure, the telcos will invest more here but what is happening in the social media space indicate that we need more infrastructure to optimize data services.

“We are concerned that until something is done by providing more infrastructure capacity, the data services will encounter more problems.”

Commenting on quality of internet service, the NCC boss said the current poor quality of Internet services was unacceptable, and noted that the telcos have challenges they are contending with.

“I am not satisfied with the speed of the Internet experienced today. The speed in the national broadband says 1.5 mega Hz per second. In places like Lagos, you may get higher speed, Kano you hardly get 500 kbits, which is too small.

“The disadvantage of having very slow speed of the Internet is that you can’t do so many things. Like I said, although, we are contending with a lot of network challenges, the network operators should give value for money,” he said.