Nigerian government fines wireless carriers millions of dollars for dropped calls and spotty coverage
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The United States government imposes many rules and regulates the wireless industry heavily. However, one area our government has been relatively uninvolved in is the actual end user experience. The government really doesn't get involved with handling carrier performance. As you recall, we've reported on several carriers who have had issues with coverage in areas like New York, and we all know a spot where our phones will drop a call regularly. Nigerian regulators are cracking down hard. Leading Nigerian carriers Airtel, Etisalat, Globacom and MTN have been fined $7.3 million in total, penalizing them for poor service. These measures were needed since Nigeria is extremely dependent on cellular phones for its communications.
Unlike the US, Nigeria doesn't have a developed land line network, and many geographic locales lack basic utilities such as food and water, rendering wireless communication a safety necessity. The government is giving the carriers several weeks to pay the fines to avoid further fines imposed on them. Officials are also requiring carriers to improve the country's wireless network infrastructure to help mitigate the need to impose such fines in the future.
Do you support the government getting involved with wireless carrier coverage and quality? What do you think would be the result in the US if the government here levied fines on our national carriers for not addressing areas of poor coverage and dropped calls?
via: Textually
Unlike the US, Nigeria doesn't have a developed land line network, and many geographic locales lack basic utilities such as food and water, rendering wireless communication a safety necessity. The government is giving the carriers several weeks to pay the fines to avoid further fines imposed on them. Officials are also requiring carriers to improve the country's wireless network infrastructure to help mitigate the need to impose such fines in the future.
Do you support the government getting involved with wireless carrier coverage and quality? What do you think would be the result in the US if the government here levied fines on our national carriers for not addressing areas of poor coverage and dropped calls?
via: Textually
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7 Comments
2. adi4u4882 posted on 18 May 2012, 04:40 3 0
This is a good move. For the money they are asking from the users they should give proper service.
3. shy2papa posted on 18 May 2012, 04:53 1 0
Well one of the carriers GLO told the government regulatory agency to go to hell and there services went from bad to worst no calls coming in or going out, so the next move belongs to the government.
4. Martine posted on 18 May 2012, 06:00 4 0
A Nigerian here, There Network Service here is horrible. I think that fine is too small. MTN (Manage This Network) is also the worst network ever. The government is also too corrupt here.
5. BigRed83 posted on 18 May 2012, 10:53 0 0
They can use the money from their Lotto pool to fix their phone lines, just sayin...
6. downphoenix posted on 18 May 2012, 13:51 0 0
Govt does need to get involved. Too many spotty areas, poor coverage in rural areas, etc.
