The Chamber of Telecommunication has denounced claims of spam messages being sent to customers by network operators.
In a release sighted by the Vaultz News, the Chamber insisted that the mobile network operators are not politically aligned and are therefore barred for conveying such unsolicited electronic communication or unwanted text messages to its customers.
“The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has noted with concern, customer complaints across various media relating to a recent political party’s unsolicited message. The Chamber would like to state unequivocally that its members, the mobile network operators (MNOs), are politically neutral, and their policies and principles prohibit the promotion of any political party.
“Mobile Network Operators have not sent out UECs for and on behalf of any Political Party. Political Parties rely on Content Providers to do Bulk SMS transfers on their behalf”.
Their statement comes after concerns were raised by members of the public who received campaign messages from some political parties ahead of the general elections on December 7.
“As an industry, we are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure the continued growth of our democracy”.
Also, it stressed the fact that, “mobile Network Operators do not give out contacts of their subscribers to Content Providers or marketers for targeting. Content providers build databases of phone numbers from various sources including online, social media etc”.
Further clarifying the matter on how some political parties gain access to customers’ information, the Chamber attributed it to their own improvisation.
“Political Parties have access to data which they get through their own sources including their fundraising activities and other events. A UEC may not necessarily come from the operator you use. It could come from any source if your number is part of their targeted database”.
The Chamber expressed their commitment to ensuring all telco operators abide by the stipulated guidelines and also a total adherence to the regulator’s own guidelines.
“Ghana’s mobile industry comprising of leading global network operators namely AirtelTigo, MTN and Vodafone would abide by existing guidelines and best practices on the incidence of spam and Unsolicited Electronic Communications (UEC) while supporting their customers with education.
“The National Communication Authority’s guidelines on unsolicited electronic communications provide a detailed framework for transaction and non-transactional messages we will continue to work with the Regulator to support our ongoing plans in implementing filtering systems and blacklist mechanisms to protect the consumer.
“The mobile industry, beyond being accountable to the customer, remains committed to delivering quality voice and data services as well as that new digital world to its customers”.
In an effort to help address and mitigate the concerns of customers, the Chamber advised that, “customers who wish to unsubscribe from UECs of any kind should type STOP (space) SENDERS’ NAME and send to the number from which the message or call was sent to stop receiving such messages.
“If the UECs persists, contact your service provider to omit you from the promotional list and the Regulator as last resort”.
