18 October 2019

Value Added Services (VAS) in Nigeria’s telecom industry shrunk by 74% in two years as subscribers continued to opt-out of unsolicited messages through the ‘Do Not Disturb’ option.

Stakeholders in the sector made the admission at the 2019 Nigeria VAS stakeholder’s forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Lagos.

According to the VAS providers, the industry valued at NGN300bn in 2017 now generates only NGN79bn per annum.

Speaking to media at the event, the director, technical standards and network integrity at NCC, Bako Wakil, said the reason  DND was introduced was not to bring down the VAS market, but to protect the interests of customers. 

He added that if the industry joined forces to provide a solution to the DND issues, the commission would examine the solution proffered and see if it is acceptable. 

The NCC said it had introduced the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb code activation for subscribers who did not wish to receive unsolicited text messages.

A toll-free line was provided for consumers to report issues related to unsolicited messages and data renewals, among others. 

“Two years ago, the industry was over NGN300bn but the figure we got today showed that the industry is about NGN79bn and it is declining and this is because of the introduction of DND,” Wakil said. “The intention is not to bring down the market or the performance of the sector but as a regulator, we considered the consumers, with the kind of money they are losing without their consent.” 

He added that industry as a whole must address the needs of the consumers even though that has affected the investment in that sector.

“If we get any solution that will take into cognisance the concerns of the consumers, we will look into it and implement it so that the sector will bounce back to its former glory,” Wakil said.