Business
NCC To Tackle Unsolicited Messages
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has promised to take definite actions to address the issue of unsolicited text messages from 2013.
Director of Public Affairs in NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, told newsmen in Lagos that the Consumer Affairs Department of NCC was already working to find a solution to the issue.
Ojobo said that agencies like the Consumer Protection Council and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission were also working to address the issue.
He said with the growth of the Internet facilities, some of the unsolicited text messages were not emanating from the telecoms service providers.
Ojobo said that such messages could also be Internet Protocol based messages.
“In these days of the Internet, there are really certain things you may not be able to control.
“We have had meetings with telecoms operators and some of them have said those messages are not coming from their platforms. It is an issue that has to do with the Voice over Internet Protocol technology and when you look at the number that sent the message, it is not really coming from any operator,’’ the director said.
He said that such unsolicited messages were not peculiar to Nigeria, adding that such things also happened in the other parts of the world like the U.S. and the UK.
According to Ojobo, the issue of unsolicited text messages is part of the challenges that come with technology.
He, however, urged operators to always provide avenues for subscribers to opt out if they did not want to be receiving unsolicited messages that were coming from them.