Telecom
The Need for Operators to Expand Call Centres
Telecommunications sector of the country economy has witnessed over the past nine years tremendous growth in different sphere, aside growth in number of Nigerians who now have access to communications tool known as telephone, service delivery has also recorded growth.
What use to be the traditional services that both code division multiple access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) started with which is voice has been expanded to include such as services as internet, video among others. All these are made possible by technological upgrade embarked upon by operators in the industry.
The nature of services delivery by telecommunications operators whether voice or data is a system that allows service providers to install or set up telecommunications equipment at a particular location far from its operational base and deliver services to people within that coverage area.
What this means is that a telephone or Internet service provider that is based in Lagos with its main transmission equipment installed in Lagos can deliver services to such locations as in Sokoto or Uyo by simply installing another transmission equipment and transceiver station that will transmit calls from the sundry locations to the main switching centre probably in Lagos.
Subscribers to the service in Sokoto or Uyo as the case may be will enjoy the service without having to see the people rendering the service but agents not directly employed by the service provider as well as their equipment. The question that rises is how can these subscribers located far from the operational base of the operator reach out to the operator to resolve issues arising from service delivery? Such issues as recharging of phones, where recharge card numbers have been scratched off, Sim card issues among others. These issues are addressed through telephone contact to the operators’ call centre located mostly at operator’s operational base.
A call centre is a centralized office or building used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of request by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquires from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection are also made through a call centre. In addition, a call centre also receives fax, live chat, e-mail among others.
A call centre is often operated through an extensive open work stations that includes a computer for each agent, a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch, and one or more supervisor stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centres, often linked to a corporate computer network.
Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the centre are linked through a set of new technologies called computer telephony integration (CTI).
Most major businesses use call centres to interact with their customers. Examples include utility companies, mail order catalog retailers, and customer support for computer hardware and software. Some businesses even service internal functions through call centre. Examples of this include help desk such as the ones banks have open to address issues arising from Automated Teller Machine transactions, and sale support.
Call centres are different from customer care, as the later refers to an office designated for physical resolution of issues associated with service provision. Call centres technology is subject to improvements and innovations. Some of these technologies include speech recognition and speech synthesis software that allows computers to handle first level of customer support, text mining and natural language processing to allow better customer handling, agent training by automatic mining best practices from past interactions, and many other technologies to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction. Automatic lead selection or lead steering is also intended to improve efficiency both for inbound and outbound campaigns, whereby inbound calls are intended to quickly land with the appropriate agent to handle the task, while minimizing wait times and long list of irrelevant options for people calling in, as well as for outbound calls, where lead selection allows management to designate what type of leads go to which agent based on factors including skill, socio-economic factors and past performance. The concept of the Universal Queue standardizes the processing of communications across multiple technologies such as fax, phone and email.
Few years ago some telecommunications service providers advertised non-existent call centre numbers and this was quickly addressed by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). But today, the issue is no longer none existence of call centre numbers, but inadequate facilities at call centres to be able to take inquires and respond to such inquires even as services being delivered by operators especially GSM and CDMA operators have expanded. For instance, at inception these operators were providing basically voice service as technology has converged voice and data services which position them to expand their service offering to data and internet. To this end, as services are expanded so are issues arising from services increases thereby requiring operators to expand their call centres for effective service delivery. When operators rolled out service in 2002 they were rendering basically voice service, but with advancement in technology which now enables they to delivery internet and video, so is the need for them to expand both customer care centres and call centres to effectively handle issues from the expanded service offerings.
The inability of telecommunications service providers to address issues associated with their service through contact centers led to NCC providing its own contact centres that will interface with subscribers and operators. Mrs. Lolia Emakporie, director, Consumer Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission NCC said that the establishment of contact centre by the commission has became necessary in view of several complaint by telecom consumers of luster attitude of service providers in addressing subscribers complaint about their service. She added that calls to NCC contact center is toll-free and on 0800CALLNCC, with multi-lingual dedicated agents in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages. The contact centre is to be operated on behalf of the commission by Interra Networks that will handle phone calls and emails from the 43 million and growing subscriber base on range of issues, but will be primary focused on resolving any dispute between the consumer and their service providers. The NCC will use Interras Business process Outsourcing (BPO) services to get ‘closer’ to the Nigerian consumer.
Through their outsourcing service provider, Apherion Outsourcing, Interra provides a host of BPO services which include Contact centre services, document management services, human Resource management and payroll Processing and Data Entry and Processing.
Service providers’ call centres have experienced changes since 2002, then GSM operators were running the centres by themselves and provided enough staff to take calls though then subscribers were not as it is today. Then, callers to these centres were meant to talk to human beings and did not wait for a long time before they are answered. As subscribers of the operators increases the number of calls coming to their contact centres increased, and they found out that operating the call centres requires huge investment in human resource and in an attempt to operate a cost effective call centre, as well as to reduce what they classified as hoax calls which are calls not made to the centre without presenting a problem but rather seeking interaction with the lady recipient as the case may be, that some operators introduced Interactive Voice Response system at their call centres. Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows a computer to detect voice and keypad inputs. IVR system can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct users on how to proceed. IVR system can be used to control almost any function where the interface can be broken down into a series of simple menu choices.
It has become more common in industries that have recently entered the telecom industry to refer to an automated attendant as an IVR. This means that when discussing an IVR application, it is important to ensure that the person you are talking to understand the term to mean the same thing as you do. Generally-speaking, those with a traditional telecom background are more likely to refer to an Automated Attendant and IVR as separate things, whereas those from an emerging telephony or VoIP background are more likely to use the term IVR to define any kind of telephony menu, even the most basic Automated Attendant. Call centres use IVR system to identify and segment callers. The ability to identify customers allows the ability to tailor services according to profile. It also allows the option of choosing automated services. Information can be fed to the caller allowing choices such as: wait in the queue, choose an automated service, or request a callback. The use of computer telephone integration (CTI) allows the IVR system to look up the Calling Line ID (CLI) on a network database and identify the caller. This is currently accurate for about 80% of inbound calls. In the cases where CLI is withheld or unavailable, the caller can be asked to identify themselves by other methods such as a PIN or password. The use of DNIS will ensure that the correct application and language is executed by the IVR system. IVR is often criticized as being unhelpful and difficult to use due to poor design and lack of appreciation of the caller’s needs. Some callers object to providing voice response to an automated system and prefer speaking with a human respondent.
A properly designed IVR application should provide the caller’s needs promptly and with a minimum of complexity.
It is against this backdrop that telecom subscribers in the country are agitating to the use of IVR as they are expecting human beings to attend to them and not machines.
In view of all these challenges, arises the question of how telecommunications services providers can improve on the efficiency of their call centre in order to meet both NCC standard as well as the increasing needs of their subscribers?
To this end, what readily comes to mind is outsourcing of the service to a different company other than the operator to enable them face their core function of service delivery. The way such arrangement is design enables the outsourced company to generate complaints either on hour basis to technical section as the case may be of the operator to ensure that such complaints are resolved at the shortest possible time.
This initiative has been adopted by MTN and Zain while GloMobile is on the process of adopting the initiative.
Industry watchers that spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek are of the view that outsourcing is a good initiative as well as the use of IVR. But advise that subscriber be allowed the option of either talking to human being which may attract extra cost or machine at no cost. They say explained that in view of the literate level in our society such option is evitable especially when those that are not well educated call to the centres.
Telecom
Telcos Threaten to Disconnect Banks over Misinformation on New USSD Charges

Telecommunication companies have threatened to withdraw their Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD), services from banks over what they called misinformation.
MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom and 9Mobile- the telcos disclosed that the banks’ notice to their customers on the new billing system and airtime deductions for USSD services was misleading.
Also, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) also denied that the directive was from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
USSD is done via shortcodes on mobile phones and allows bank customers to make transactions in places with limited or no internet service.
Recall that banks earlier this week claimed that NCC has directed them to begin charging them from their airtime rather than from customers’ accounts.
The notice from the banks read in part: “In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account.
“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.
“Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of ?6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator.
“You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service.
“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”
Reacting, ALTON, umbrella body of telecom operators in Nigeria, said the banks’ notice is a gross misinformation deliberately hatched to suit their selfish interests.
Hence they threatened to withdraw network support to the banks’ USSD services.
Engr Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON told Vanguard: ” I don’t understand why the banks are twisting agreements and distorting information just to favour their selfish interests. In the first place, the information wasn’t a directive from the NCC but a joint regulatory agreement between the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN witnessed by the telcos and the banks. The agreement was that if the banks finally cleared all USSD debts owed to the telcos by June 2, 2025, they are free to migrate to the end-user billing method, so long as the model of migration is transparent and agreed upon by the telcos.
“The reason for that clause was because the telcos insisted that the process of migration is such that will not allow a customer to be billed twice; in other words, that a subscriber would not have his airtime deducted and also have his or her money deducted for same services from his or her bank account.
” As we speak, some of the banks have cleared their debts, but the majority are yet to do so. So, even if all the modalities of migrating to end-user billing have been perfectly carried out, the implementation cannot even begin because the banks are yet to clear the USSD debt owed to the telcos.
“Our position now is that if that is the way the banks want to treat the agreement, we may withdraw support for their USSD services. It is not a must-have. They can do without it. But, they should clear the debts as agreed,” he added.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Plans N900Bn in Service Upgrade

MTN Nigeria has announced plans to embark on a massive capital expenditure (CAPEX) drive in 2025, committing nearly N900 billion to significantly enhance network service quality across Nigeria.

Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria,
The substantial investment, more than double the combined CAPEX of approximately N440 billion spent in 2023 and 2024, underscored MTN’s aggressive strategy to address persistent service quality issues and meet growing customer and regulatory expectations.
Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, detailed this unprecedented financial commitment during a recent interview on Arise TV, emphasizing that improving service quality is the company’s paramount message for the year.
He highlighted a clear understanding and expectation from both the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and security agencies for improved network quality.
A primary focus of this increased CAPEX will be on putting additional capacity in a city like Lagos, particularly in Abuja, where you have a lot of buildings coming up, you need additional sites because there are coverage issues.
Beyond these critical urban centers, the investment aims to bolster network resilience and ensure power stability for its infrastructure nationwide.
This includes proactively addressing site outages by ensuring timely payment for operational necessities such as diesel for generators, a persistent challenge in the Nigerian operating environment.
Toriola outlined a comprehensive upgrade process, which involves placing orders formally, opening letters of credit, and then the equipment gets shipped in and installed.
He added that MTN will be acquiring new sites and laying fiber to the base station to create better stability” where necessary.
While the immediate CAPEX is geared towards improving existing service quality and capacity, this investment aligns with MTN’s broader goals of enhancing financial inclusion in underserved rural areas, suggesting a long-term vision for network expansion and service improvement that extends beyond metropolitan areas.
Subscribers can anticipate tangible improvements in service quality, with a significant improvement in quality of service expected by the end of the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2025, according to Toriola.
“This year is all going to be about capital expenditure on an aggressive basis to fix quality of service issues (and) meet both the regulators’ and the public’s expectations,” he affirmed, reiterating MTN’s steadfast focus on customer experience through substantial capital investment.
Telecom
Telecom Regulators in Africa Chart New Course for a Data-driven Future

Telecom regulators and industry leaders from across the Middle East and Africa gathered in Cairo last week to chart a data-driven future for the region.
In a region where digital transformation is accelerating at unprecedented speed, connectivity intelligence firm, Ookla and Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) joined forces to organise the Telecommunications Regulatory Summit
Themed ‘Harnessing Data and Technology for Superior QoS’, the summit focused on how data, particularly crowdsourced insights, can transform regulatory strategies across the region.
The summit attracted stakeholders from over 30 countries, including delegates from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and World Broadband Association (WBBA), who engaged in high-level discussions on optimising network performance and accelerating digital inclusion.
Karim Yaici, lead industry analyst for the Middle East and Africa at Ookla, said the event set the tone for the growing value of data-driven decision-making.
“Access to and the use of crowdsourced data contribute to making more informed decisions, fostering transparency and ensuring that citizens in the MEA region benefit from high-quality, accessible and affordable connectivity,” he said.
The experts underlined that crowdsourced data is becoming a critical complement to traditional regulatory methods.
They agreed that it helps identify service gaps, prioritise infrastructure investments, and drive innovation.
With broadband speeds now closely tied to GDP growth and productivity, accurate performance data is seen as key to socio-economic advancement.
Dr. Hossam Abdel-Mawla, vice-president of technical affairs and quality of service at NTRA, stressed that the summit was pivotal in fostering regional collaboration.
“By actively sharing best practices and exploring innovative data-driven strategies, we are shaping a future where telecom regulations ensure digital inclusion and economic growth across the region,” he said.
In a key session, Ahmed Nabawy, director of client services at Ookla, presented findings on 5G performance in Egypt and Tunisia.
He demonstrated how Ookla’s unified data platform, powered by AI, enables operators to analyse 5G-capable device density and prioritise high-impact rollout areas.
The summit also explored the shift from conventional network quality metrics to more user-centric Quality of Experience models. These advanced analytics tools promise to enhance transparency, improve accountability, and ultimately deliver better connectivity experiences for all.
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