E-Business
After Data WAR, What Next for Telcos’ Customers
In a ‘Signature Research’ series, an industry leading perspectives on telecoms technology, competition, and market evolution released by Ovum in November 2011, the analysts without much equivocation pointed at ‘customers’ and ‘cost reductions’ as the prime focus areas for telecoms service providers today.
They opined that, if tackled correctly, these objectives are not mutually exclusive: they are complementary. The Signature Research reflected the breadth and depth of Ovum’s coverage, including informed opinion, advice on how to capitalize on industry developments, and intelligence in the form of forecasts and market insight.
In a nutshell, analysts at Ovum identified thus, “telco customer service directors have identified that ‘addressing the customer service model’ is a top priority while CIOs have acknowledged that ‘improving the customer experience’ is a primary area for investment.
This demonstrates that telcos have recognized that their future lies with their existing customers.
However, customers’ service expectations have been raised by their experiences in other verticals, meaning that telcos will need to work very hard to engage, retain, and satisfy their existing customers.
It seems the telcos in Nigeria are borrowing a leaf from the Ovum’s perspective, as they have recently been entangled in a ‘data price war’; a sort of cold war with Airtel first to adjust its data plans, starting with the Android market.
Airtel today offers over 2GB data for less than N2000 and 4.5GB for N3000 on BlackBerry phones it could be applied on Android too; a feat that seemed impossible few years ago.
Glo followed with an even more enticing data plans, to the extent 12GB of internet data for sells for N5000.
Prompted by the enticing packages of the two operators mentioned above, MTN and Etisalat threw their hats in the ring. Are you kidding me? 3.5GB data on MTN line for N2000 and Etisalat offering with 1.5GB for N1000 and 3.5GB for N2000 club.
Well, this piece is not meant to dwell entirely on the so called ‘new data price regime’, but to remind the telcos that there are other nagging issues they must swiftly address – customer care.
Take the issue of electricity for instance. Mr. Babataunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) have been labouring towards convincing Nigerians on how to pay more for power, so that the GENCOS and DISCOS of this world will perform better. The argument has always been: provide power and we shall willingly pay.
In the case of telcos and the customers, the case is a little bit different in the sense, telcos seems to be covering their tracks by stuffing the mouth of the customers with price reductions. How do I mean? Remember, some time in 2015, the telcos, knowing that revenue from voice services has been on downward trend, they introduced ‘buy-now-pay-later’ campaign, where customers are to live as real kings; no more running out of credit. Though that is still on play, but the stem is no more there. That is not to say Nigerians have totally ditched that scheme. No.
Customer Service Is Lacking
Customer service is key! I think most customers would prefer an uninterrupted quality of service. Of what essence is giving one 2.5GB of data at the lowest price, but he ends up utilising only 1GB. That is obtaining by tricks; in other climes it would be called a deception and scam.
I believe such customer would prefer a moderate price regime with adequate service provisioning. There is no sacred cow here, but all telcos default at one point or the other. Yes, I admit that telcos are at the forefront of deepening the ecosystem, but there are plenty rooms for improvement.
From the same study quoted above, Ovum emphasized thus, “Customer service does not describe a point-to-point relationship between a telco and its customers, nor is it a relationship that exists purely to resolve problems. The relationship between a telco and its customers extends all the way from pre-sales research to in-life usage as customers look to purchase new services, upgrade existing ones, and add new features throughout their lifecycle. To secure the customer relationship in the face of disruptive competitors, telcos must stay with the customer through every step of their lifecycle”.
Please, pay attention to this, “Telcos need to be accessible, responsive, consistent, and effective. Web-based customer service delivers on accessibility and consistency and has the added benefit of diverting costs from more expensive alternatives such as contact centres, and has the ability to scale without adding exponentially to costs”. What can I say, as a result of Ovum’s breath-taking postulation, telcos in Nigeria should not cease from increasingly investing in web-based platforms, software, and business processes to improve their online customer service channels.
When the initial results are encouraging, with customer service-related capex, call volumes, and repeat calls to contact centers will start to decline.
“However, online customer service tends to lack the personal touch that other channels provide, and telcos need to ensure Online customer that they retain the hearts and minds of their customers”.
At this junction, it is pertinent to acknowledge the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for using its policy thrust in such a positive manner that now innovation dictates the pace of competition aimed at customers’ satisfaction.
ICT Investment
Fortunately, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, speaking at the first industry stakeholders forum convoked by the Ministry on his assumption of office, he acknowledged the need for improved infrastructure, as “Inadequate ICT infrastructure is the bane of ICT development in the country and a leading cause of quality of service deficiencies. From broadband penetration to last mile fibre optic connectivity, this infrastructure deficit is preventing all Nigerians from gaining affordable and reliable access.
Lack of affordability, due in part, to the proliferation of taxes, fees, levies and associated costs further inhibits investment in infrastructure required to support and grow our boisterous ICT market”, he said.
Nigeria’s ICT sector is growing and in view of the prevailing potentials, the Federal Government is targeting additional Foreign Direct Investment in the sector in excess of N4trillion ($15billion).
To this end, the government needs to stimulate the industry for further investments and deal with the issue of multiple taxation particularly the notorious right-of-way, while the telcos become more customer-centric to ensure that subscriber get value for their money.
Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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