Following complaints over quality of GSM services in Nigeria, the national Nigerian Communications Commission is to set up arbitration panels in different parts of the country.

Head of Consumer Affairs NCC, Nnamdi Nwokike who disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Jos, added the Arbitration Panels would provide opportunity for people to go and lodge their complaints.

Mr. Nwokike who said NCC was also worried about the level of quality of GSM services in the country, however stated that the NCC as a regulatory body does not adjudicate but put in place processes that would ameliorate situations.

Speaking on GSM tarrifs which many Nigerians have lamented that it is high, Mr. Nwokike said it would be dictatorial for NCC to fix a tariff by fiat, expressing believe that with competitive environment, market forces in a liberalised market should be allowed to determine the prices.

He however, said the NCC gave a seal of how much per minute charge should be and the service providers were to operate within the sealing.

Mr. Nwokike explained that in arriving at a sealing of N50 per minute, NCC considered the per minute cost of landline for the longest distance in the country which is N42.50.

On the problem of interconnectivity, he said NITEL had assured that it would be resolved by early next year.

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