Telecoms Sector: Consumer Protection In The Spotlight

The Telecommunications Regulatory Board has organised open door days to sensitise consumers on their rights and duties.

The courtyard of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, TRB, in the Nouvelle Route Bastos neighbourhood of Yaounde is playing host to a telecoms exhibition. The exhibition is part of open door days organised by TRB on the theme; “Protection of Electronic Communications Users” to sensitise customers on their rights and obligations. The opening of the two-day event at the head office yesterday, December 8, 2016, was occasion for telecoms operators to update officials and customers on measures put in place to protect customers.

The Secretary General in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Armand Ndjodom, on behalf of Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng, said the liberalisation of the telecoms sector in 1998 opened floodgates of operators and services which in most cases do not meet the desires of customers. The need to establish customer service departments by operators was therefore indispensable, reason why government through the TRB obliged operators to do so in 2008. The General Manager of TRB, Jean Louis Beh Mengue, said it was time to assure customers that they have a voice that counts.

The number of complaints keeps increasing, with TRB officials stating that 17 were handled in 2014 on poor quality services, unwanted messages and games. The number of complaints increased to 34 on similar concerns. TRB obliged operators to stop sending more than three messages per day to consumers. They also stressed the need to respect working and sleeping hours when ...