Call Masking: ATCON Claims NCC Cleared its Members, but the Facts Prove Otherwise

Following news that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has dropped the hammer on companies over call masking allegations, the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has dismissed reports that its members were affected.

A few weeks ago, the commission implicated 6 companies for allegedly involving in call masking and refilling. The commission promised to investigate the issue and appropriately penalize parties involved.

Call masking practices helps hide user identity and location. But it can also be used to reduce call cost extremely. The practice is used by fraudsters to avoid paying the true cost for international calls.https://t.co/8ptGzHU0FE

— Technext (@technextdotng) February 23, 2018

Having recently completed the investigation and slammed the parties with different sanctions, in a deft move, the NCC suspended one party, temporarily disconnected two others and barred over 750,000 phone numbers.

However, reacting to the news, ATCON debunked reports that its members were among the sanctioned companies. It made this stance known in a statement by its chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo,

We are delighted that in the report issued by NCC, there is no current registered member of our association that was involved. And what it goes to show is that our members are responsible corporate people who operate according to the laws.

He further shared that his members will always continue to carry out their operations and will continue to follow rules of operations.

ATCON has Three of its Companies Under the NCC’s Sanction

However, a check on the list of ATCON’s members reveals that three of it members were actually penalised by the NCC. ATCON members placed on sanctions include: Medallion Communications Limited, Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL), and Interconnect ClearingHouse Nigeria Limited.

Medallion Communications Limited had its licence suspended for 90 days. The licence was originally issued to it by Interconnect ClearingHouse Nigeria Limited. On the other hand, NCC temporarily disconnected Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL), having issued the company a serious warning.

These penalties seem quite light, considering that original expectations were that the punishments would be harsher, with full blown suspensions. However, the NCC has given these companies the liberty to correct their practice or risk further actions.