UniPort Students Get a Taste of NCC Engagement Diet

Students of the University of Port Harcourt, yesterday had their turn to experience the meaning of consumer protection, and strategic collaboration and partnership drive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, as the team from the Commission's Port Harcourt Zonal Office met with the students on their campus to discuss a wide range issues connected to telecom consumer protection and strategic collaboration with telecom stakeholders.

Woyengikuro George, Principal Manager at the Zonal Office, who led the NCC team to the campus outlined and undertook extensive discussion with the students on a wide range of issues about NCC activities to inform and educate the students on how best to take advantage of the Commission’s consumer-centric initiatives.

The first item discussed is the 2442 (Do-Not-Disturb) short code instituted by the Commission to enable telecom consumers to manage unsolicited messages they receive on their devices. George also notified the students of the 622 Toll Free Number which they can dial to escalate complaints they had earlier reported to their service providers but which are not satisfactorily resolved. He also informed the students that with the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) policy of the Commission, any telecom consumer can migrate as a subscriber to the services of a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) to another MNO without losing his mobile numbers.

The students were also enlightened about the non-hazardous effects of Electromagnetic Radiation with respect to Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), as George told them to discountenance the information bandied about health hazards of telecom masts. He was emphatic that the radiation from such telecom infrastructure are not hazardous. "If it was proved to be hazardous, the NCC would not have approved the deployment of such infrastructure and facilities." He stated to the large assembly of students who had gathered to participate in the sensitization forum.

Further discussions on other aspects of the Commission's activities were handled by other NCC staff at the Zonal Office who engaged the students one-on-one and in clusters. The students, who were quite excited about the opportunity to learn more about NCC and its programmes, took advantage of the sensitization programme to ask questions about many spheres of telecom service provision in Nigeria. The students were also handed flyers and handbills to further deepen their understanding about the Commission and its functions, programmes and initiatives.