NCC: About 750,000 phone lines barred for Call Masking/Refiling – Danbatta

About 750,000 phone lines assigned to various network operators have been barred, due to fraudulent involvement of those numbers in call masking /refiling. This was disclosed by Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, EVC/CEO, NCC, at the 85th Edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament, (TCP), held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, September 27, 2018. The theme of this Edition is “Overcoming challenges of Call Masking/Refiling: Task ahead of the Telecom Industry”. He stated that call masking has, so far, costs Nigeria about $3billion and this is why the menace should be nipped in the bud.

Call Masking, is basically a situation, where, an international call is terminated in Nigeria as a local number.

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated that the problem of call masking/refiling, became prevalent since September 2016. “Indeed, our findings have shown that masking of calls and refiling of international calls, started in September 2016, when the review of international call termination rates was increased from N3.90 to N24.40 per minute“, he explained. It will be recalled that, prior to September 2016, both the national and international call termination rates was the same at N3.90, hence, the culprits were bent on terminating those international calls as national calls, with a view to taking advantage of the price differentials. The EVC/CEO, NCC, was represented by Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC.

In his welcome address, Alhaji Ismail Adedigba, Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, stated that the theme is apt because, call masking/refilling, poses threats to the security of Telecom consumers and the country at large.

Barrister Ayoola, in his presentation at the Parliamentary session, titled, “Overcoming Challenges of Call Masking/Refiling: Task Ahead for the Telecom Industry“, ran through the practical issues, policy issues, regulatory issues, as well as recommendations for curbing the menace of call masking/filing.

A panel of discussion, comprising the regulator, NCC, and the representatives of the service providers, such as 9Mobile, Airtel, Glo Mobile, Smile Network and NTEL, also took place, to enlighten the Parliamentarians on the subject matter, with members of the Parliament also contributing to the discussion. The Parliamentary session was moderated by Hajia Rakiya Zubairu.

At the end of the event, the Parliament agreed on an eleven point resolution, to curb the menace of call masking/refiling, one of which is the fact that, consumers need to do their own side of the bargain by reporting the issues of call masking to NCC’s established channels of lodging complaints, i.e., the 622 code, through the web portal, Twitter Account, Facebook and even written complaints or to walk in to the respective NCC offices nationwide. This will enable the NCC to take appropriate action.

The Telecom Consumer Parliament consists of the regulator, NCC, the service provider, consumers and other stakeholders in the telecom industry, who were all ably represented at the event.