Investigations revealed that the committees known as Quality of Service (Network), Quality of Service (Regulatory), Quality of Service, (Interconnect) and Quality of Service, (Power), have members drawn from all stakeholders in the telecommunications sector.
According to reports the committees include all fixed wireless and GSM Operators, major equipment suppliers including Ericsson, Huawei Technologies and Nokia Siemens Networks and interconnect exchanges.
Besides interconnect exchanges, which are firms that provide interconnect services among operators, consumer right advocacy groups have also been included among those seeking solution to the problems.
The reason for the diverse representation of the committee is the fact that some groups including the National Association of Telecommunication Subscribers (NATCOMS) and the Consumer Right Advocacy League (CRAL) have been in the forefront of pressuring telecom operators into improving their services.
President of NATCOMS, Deolu Ogunbanjo, confirmed that he had been invited to work in one of the committees looking into the network problems that had become a big issue in the telecommunications sector in the last six months.
But the invitation of the equipment vendors appeared to have been informed by the fact that virtually all the operators in the country utilise a combination of their solutions for services.
The presence of interconnect exchanges seemed to have been informed by their claims that one of the reasons for the current problems is the lack of proper interconnection between operators and that with operators carrying so much traffic in their networks, it would be a drain on their resources. They advised operators to follow the rule laid down by NCC when it comes to interconnection to free more network space for on-net calls. GSM operators have however said the position by the operators was false.
Ogunbanjo confirmed that the groups, which have each held five meetings, include the plenary meetings, and have been looking at how to ensure that operators raised their services to world-class standards. They will be submitting their report to the NCC by the end of next week.
The setting-up of the committees is coming on the heels of the issuance of warnings by the NCC to MTN, Globacom and Celtel, that they would be asked to compensate subscribers by giving a fixed amount of airtime to users based on the level of quality in the network.
The inclusion of power committee was based on the fact that a major claim by operators for the current problem is that of the country's poor power supply situation.
But a telecommunications consultant and managing director of Tepee Nigeria Limited, Tokunbo Pearce had also said a major reason for the current congestion problem is the insufficient cooling of telecoms equipment due to the current power challenges.
The move is unprecedented indicating that the industry regulatory body is under massive pressure to perform. Another group that is putting massive pressure on the NCC is the national Assembly, which have in the last one month criticised the poor state of telecommunications services in the country.
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