The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will host the 54-member nations of African Union (AU) on how regulatory activities of member states can be integrated for seamless connectivity to boost customer satisfaction.
The 3-day Conference of African Telecommunications Regulators on Consumer Affairs (CATCO) 2019 is themed: “Empowering the Telecom Consumer in an Era of Technological Evolution” slated to hold on the 20 – 22, at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The CATCO 2019 is a follow-up of a similar conference held by the group in 2013, in Lagos.
Speaking about the upcoming conference, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta. Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), NCC, said “This year’s event is geared towards pursuing a continuous collaboration between African telecommunications regulators of individual countries and their regional bodies such as West Africa Telecommunication Regulatory Assembly (WATRA), East African Communications Organisation (EACO), and others,”
According to Danbatta, the Conference will provide the platform for Africans to establish unity, solidarity, collective self-reliance amongst African nations, “thereby building on the principle of pan-Africanism within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) space; and sustaining a robust collaborative regulatory environment where current and future challenges are addressed.”
Participants are expected to provide varying and fresh perspectives to burning issues affecting telecoms consumers and service delivery in Africa.
Also, vital discussions will focus on the current state of telecom industry in Africa, ways to improve it and how to sustain a healthy telecom industry.
Other areas that will be looked into are: challenges confronting African telecoms regulators, international best practices, emerging technologies and their applications for the benefits of consumers, amongst others.
Stakeholders from various African countries, legislators and government officials, Consumer Advocacy Groups, African Telecommunication Regulators and Regional bodies such as WATRA, Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) and others are expected to be at this year’s event.
The NCC hosted the first edition in 2013, in Lagos with the theme, “Harnessing Regulatory Policies to Protect Telecom Consumers in Africa”. It was a huge success with no fewer than 15 African countries in attendance.
According to Danbatta, this year’s conference will advance on the gains of CATCO 2013 because it has been specially designed and tailored towards improving Africa telecommunications industry in the 21 century.