The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has launched its telecom consumer assistance, resolution and enquiries (TELCARE) Desk to mark this year’s World Consumer Rights Day.
Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman of the commission, announced the initiative at an event held to commemorate the Consumer Rights Day on Wednesday.
He said the desk, in its pilot phase, will be set up at the arrival lounge of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, and later across strategic locations in the country.
He said: “Ladies and gentlemen, as part of activities marking 2023 World Consumer Rights Day, the Commission is today launching its Telecom Consumer Assistance, Resolution and Enquiries (TELCARE) Desk, in the Arrival Lounge of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja. The TELCARE Desk in Abuja will be a pilot as we plan to set up the desk at strategic locations across the country to provide information to telecom consumers.
“The TELCARE Desk serves as an additional platform to receive and facilitate the resolution of consumer complaints; provide a means through which consumers and citizens can make inquiries on consumer issues; provide a platform for advocacy on any thematic consumer issue or concerns; to further enhance awareness of the Commission’s activities.”
Danbatta also said the commission is poised to realise the theme for this year, which is “Empowering Consumers through Clean Energy Transition”.
“The theme is geared towards delivering a smooth transition for consumers experiencing a high cost of living as the globe responds to the ongoing energy crisis caused by supply and climate issues. This theme is very relevant given Nigeria’s recent licensing of the 5G spectrum networks, which consume twice as much energy as 4Gs, although they are more energy-efficient per gigabyte,” he said.
“With the recent licensing of the Fifth Generation (5G) spectrum, Nigeria will witness an increased deployment of telecom infrastructure to satisfy the wireless service coverage requirement for 5G services. This anticipated growth in the number of 5G coverage will trigger high demand for data services which will result in increased energy consumption for the network infrastructure especially the Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G Customer Premise Equipment (CPEs) and mobile devices for example. This requires the industry to look for green and sustainable power solutions required for the connectivity of IoT devices and network optimisation.
“All over the globe, telecom companies are among the biggest energy users, as a result of the stiff industry competition which causes them to try to satisfy their consumers by providing higher-speed networks. With the rising utility costs, it is critical for companies to reconsider the sustainability of their operations by lowering the operational impact on the environment. This is more so because it has been found that implementing energy efficiency measures could potentially reduce the operating costs of telcos by up to 20%.
“Some of these energy-efficiency measures include the redesign of the Radio Access Networks (RAN) of Base Stations which were initially built to maximise connectivity, not energy efficiency. More than 75% of the time, the radio base station resources remain unused because of the hardware components activated at all times to transmit system information and synchronisation and reference signals. Therefore, to avoid waste heat, some of 5G’s newest RAN is equipped with an energy-saving measure allowing for the automatic switching of components. Some other energy efficiency measures can also include the use of renewable energy sources (hydrogen, wind, solar etc.) to supply the energy needed.”
