The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it will impose the maximum possible penalties on any of its licencees implicated in masking of international telephone calls.
The regulatory body announced this on Monday in Lagos, in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo.
The statement said it was likely that the operating licences of some
of the interconnect exchange and other licencees involved in the
practice would either be revoked or suspended in the coming week.
Twillio, an online Communications glossary, says masked calling is a
technique used in e-commerce to protect buyers’ and sellers’ personal
phone numbers. It uses a short-lived phone number for each
party, allowing them to communicate seamlessly during a specified time
period.
The suspected licencees include Medallion Communications Ltd,
Interconnect Cleaning House Nig. Ltd, Niconnx Communication Ltd, Breeze
Micro Ltd, Solid Interconnectivity and Exchange Telecommunications Ltd.
It said that the commission and senior operatives from the nation’s
security services met with representatives of the licencees at the
commission’s Abuja office on January 24.
The statement said that the companies were confronted with some of
the evidence at the disposal of the commission and were given another
opportunity to defend themselves. ”In accordance with the provisions of
the Nigerian Communications Act and its subsidiary regulations, the
implicated licencees have been given till the January 31 to show cause
why the commission should not either revoke or suspend their operating
licences.
“This is in view of evidence of their involvement now at the
disposal of the commission and the security agencies. Because of the
critical impacts of this nefarious practice on national security and
consumer experience, the commission is determined to decisively deal
with any of its licencees implicated in the scam. We do not want to
expose the country to any further embarrassment. At the very least,
serious sanctions would be imposed on them, if it is found that their
involvement does not justify revocation of their licences,” the statement said.
The statement added that customer experience data monitored by the
commission indicated that there was a noticeable reduction in the volume
of masked calls being received by subscribers. It said that this was
reflective of the very aggressive measures the commission had taken to
deal with the menace.
“Nonetheless, we are not taking anything for
granted. We will continue to aggressively monitor all our licencees,
regardless of their sizes or the scope of their operations. ”Anyone
found wanting would be strictly dealt with in accordance with the law,”
it said.