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HD Voice in Nigeria? Quality Service Must Arrive First

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TMCnews Featured Article


June 02, 2011

HD Voice in Nigeria? Quality Service Must Arrive First

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor


Quality service is something that every subscriber demands from their telecom provider, but how difficult is it to receive? In some countries, quality could be a relative term, even in relation to HD voice. The assumption with high definition communications is excellent quality, but if the provider is under no obligation to provide it, is the customer left without choice?



This was the concept examined in a recent THISDAY article. The Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had previously drafted a regulation that demanded quality service delivery from telecom services providers. This regulation also spelled out the consequences should the telecom provider fail to meet the requirements. That regulation is soon to be ratified. 

According to Dr. Eugene Juwah, the chief executive officer of the NCC, the legislation needed to be ratified to give it the proper teeth so that the Commission’s work to improve quality service delivery in the industry could be successful. In the past, the NCC lacked the legal authority to enforce its own legislation. 

A task force has now been appointed to investigate those areas where HD voice is not yet an option simply because of poor service quality. The operators who are identified as delivering poor quality service as a result of this investigation will be penalized for every day they operate through poor quality service delivery. To date, according to Dr. Juwah, no telecom has been penalized as no regulation was in place and considered lawful to enforce. 

While the NCC is waiting for its regulation to be finalized, members of the commission have been meeting with telecom providers so that they understand the quality of service indicators the NCC will use to measure their performance. One of the key challenges for operators is the offering of promotions where execution limits capacity. It is up to the commission to communicate with operators the key performance indicators and what they must do to provide the quality service customers demand, including HD voice. 

Some area service providers would be happy to offer HD voice, yet they are struggling with service issues as simple as dropped calls, poor service accessibility, poor availability on the network, and poor voice quality. Other providers lack one or two way audio in several connections. A number of weak and dead signal zones in major cities have also been identified as contributing to poor service delivery. 

For their part, some service providers are placing the blame for poor quality service on local and state governments, in addition to individual subscribers who intentionally use jammers to dislocate services. Excessive taxation and tough conditions have also been cited as obstacles to introducing services such as HD voice and other capabilities. 

Industry leaders are claiming that broadband is critical for Nigeria if the country hopes to continue to push its economic development forward, according to a Bikya Masr piece. Others, according to the Daily Independent, are watching closely as the country embarks on cashless transactions. With this move into further reliance on telecoms, quality service delivery will have to meet with strict high standards. 

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Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell






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