Call masking: No lifting of ban, remain offense insists Maida – ITREALMS

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has insisted that call masking remained a crime punishable in the nation’s telecommunications space, reports ITREALMS.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida disclosed this to ITREALMS on Thursday at a media parley which coincided with his 100 days in office held in Lagos.

Call masking is a telephone feature that displays a designated phone number on outbound calls; Callers could only see the caller ID that you set and not your actual phone number or extension.

Responding to ITREALMS question, EVC Maida said that as far as he knows, call masking ban has not been lifted.

This, he maintained, remained a crime and criminal offenses have some deterrent actions.

Also speaking, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Engr. Ubale Ahmed Maska reiterated the EVC position, declaring that “it remained a criminal offense to operate call masking in the country.”

He also revealed that some measures are being put in place to ensure such perpetrators are tracked and punished.

In addition, he disclosed that NCC has recently completed installation of some equipment to aid the Commission in tracking masked calls and eventually break the perpetrators to book.

The latest installations, he said, would avail NCC more surveillance, emphasising that punishment will be meted to offenders.

Further, the EVC reeled out his strategic plans to be anchored on four pillars including, collaboration, data-centric, compliance and digitalisation of processes.

As said by Maida, the importance of collaboration cannot be over-emphasised given the fact that telecommunications binds every other sectors of the economy.

NCC under his watch, he said would ensure data-centric engagement so as to ensure that data drives and used to project the work of the commission, as such that industry data collection is paramount in its service delivery, while focus on critical stakeholders, namely the consumers, licensees and the government.

Maida, who was also accompanied by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Adeleke Morounfolu Adewolu, some directors, deputy directors, heads of units as well as, Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka, anticipated all the licensees of NCC to comply with the rules of the game towards making the sector the defacto engine-room of the modern economies.

Pointing out that network reliability will be encouraged to empower consumers to have a better connectivity and move away from multiple SIM usage.

Efforts, he said, would be geared towards making data more affordable, thereby advancing the general security to improve end-user experience.

He warned that there will be consequences for using SIM for frauds in the country and NCC will tighten any loose end to make sure this is achieved.

Whereas, he said that NCC will leverage digitalisation to work processes more friendly to the eco-system including subscribers and investors.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

NCC, CPC investigate effects of call masking - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS: 

The Nigerian Communications Commission and the Consumer Protection Council have resolved to investigate the effects of call masking in Nigeria on the directive of the National Assembly for the consumers, reports ITREALMS.

This saw to the review of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two government organizations and discuss how to work together to improve complaints resolution of telecommunications consumers.

Speaking at the meeting, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, said masking of calls with another number, especially international calls is a matter that has been trending and the NCC has been directed to address it as it has security implications.

Professor Danbatta said “The office of the National Security Adviser had directed the NCC to put in place, measures that will contain this menace even before the directive from the National Assembly to the NCC and the CPC.

“We have resolved to set up a joint committee to investigate call masking and filing and conclude within a month, and I am very happy with the outcome of the meeting.

“What has happened today is a testimony to an important item on NCC’s 8-point agenda which is strategic collaborations and partnerships with other agencies of government”

Babatunde Irukera, Director General, Consumer Protection Council said the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss consumer protection with respect to the telecommunications industry.

Irukera said: “it was a very productive meeting and few key things we agreed on is that the CPC needs a good number of guidelines, directions, regulations and initiatives of the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the NCC, with respect to addressing consumer issues.

“We are looking to concluding an existing negotiation on an MOU that will define how our relationship goes going forward, and we will open a mutual investigation into quality of consumer experiences in the telecommunications industry, to address a lot of consumer issues.”

The Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Sunday Dare, stated that NCC’s journey with the CPC started many years back with previous MOU’s. 

“We been trying to review the MOU for some months and we’ve come to the final part of it, and what has happened today is to make sure we create the kind of synergy that we need to go forward to protect the consumers”, he said.

Sunday Dare reiterated that the NCC under the leadership of Professor UG Danbatta prioritizes protecting, informing and educating the 154 million telecoms subscribers in Nigeria through various ways, including the interagency collaboration with other organizations like CPC that have a mandate to protect consumers across the country.

Call Masking: NCC sanctions clearing houses, bars 750,000 PNL, LEO numbers

ITREALMS:

… Immediate disconnect of ICSL, SISL

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sanctioned some interconnect clearing houses licensees for alleged call-masking, call-refiling and SIM-Boxing, with immediate disconnection of Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL) and Solid Interconnectivity Services Limited from all networks, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered, is coming as the Commission also barred over 750,000 numbers assigned to PrivateNetwork Links (PNL) and Local Exchange Operator (LEO) licensees, found to be aiding and abating this unwholesome practice.

Director, Public Affairs Department of NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, confirmed this to ITRealms, Tuesday, saying they were recently inundated with complaints from service providers and consumers regarding the high incidence of call-masking, call-refiling and SIM-Boxing, hence they have to take action.

Generally, he defined the practice complained of as “disguising international calls as local calls in order to profit from price differentials between international and local calls. Apart from the resultant loss of revenue by service providers, the practice some also has negative security implications.”

He also said that this follow a painstaking investigation process which included collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Department of State Services, the Commission has imposed a range of sanctions on licensees involved in the fraudulent practice.

The sanctions, he said include the suspension of the Interconnect Clearinghouse License issued to Medallion Communications Limited for a period of 90 (ninety) days, in the first instance; Issuance of a strong warning to Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria Limited; Disconnection of Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL) and Solid Interconnectivity Services Limited from all networks, until they regularize their operations.

In addition, Ojobo told ITRealms that NCC issued letters of caution to three other licensees, namely the Exchange Telecoms Limited, NiconnX Limited and Breeze Micro Limited, warning them against engaging in the fraudulent practice, whereas, barring over 750,000 numbers assigned to several Private Network Links (PNL) and Local Exchange Operator (LEO) licensees, which number ranges were found to have been utilized for the practice.

The sanctioned entities, NCC spokesman said in a press statement made available to ITRealms, were found to be directly and indirectly complicit in several infractions, including, covertly allowing organisations with expired licences to transit calls, failure to undertake due diligence on parties seeking to interconnect, deliberately turning a blind eye to masking infractions by interconnect partners, and using a licence issued to another organisation to bring-in and terminate international calls which were masked as local calls to other operators.

On the barring of numbers, he reiterated that over 750,000 individual numbers across the nation, made up of about 31 number ranges have been barred.

NCC further said that licensees whose numbers have been barred are Vezeti Communications Services Limited, Voix Networks Limited, Mobitel Limited, Peace Global Satellite Communications Limited, ABG Communications Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Swift Telephone Networks Limited, QVODA Telecoms Limited, Wireless Telecoms Limited and Emcatel Networks Limited.

According to NCC, culprits were found to be terminating millions of minutes, whereas they only have very few active customers.

“The Commission is pleased to note that the incidence of call masking has significantly reduced since it commenced a multi-faceted approach to address the menace,” he said.

Insisting that the actions so far taken by NCC, were just the first stage of the exercise, stressing that the second stage which has now commenced, will focus on the Mobile Network Operators and other persons involved in SIM-Boxing.

“The aim of the Commission is to completely stamp out the fraudulent practice in the overall interest of all Nigerians. Accordingly, every service provider that has been sanctioned still has an opportunity to correct the identified anomalies and satisfy the Commission that it should be allowed to continue to operate in Nigeria.

“The Commission reserves the right to revoke the licence of such service providers where they fail to take the necessary corrective measures,” NCC declared.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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