By Juliet Umeh
When the General System for Mobile Communications, GSM, services came into operation in Nigeria in 2001, the operators made a database of customers who subscribed to their services.
It was a major Know Your Customer, KYC practice which helped them to know the categories, ages and demography of their customers.
Such statistics have over time helped them to tailor services specifically to target needs.
However, from the account of people living with disabilities, PLWDs, like the deaf, dumb and the blind, such KYC did not have them in mind. For them, even though their data were collected, it apparently ended in trash bins and never improved their lot.
The International Telecommunications Union, ITU has a rule that even though the PLWDs may have been naturally or accidentally confined to conditions that no longer allow them walk, talk or see effectively, their rights to enjoy the life-changing benefits of technology, should not be denied them.
In Nigeria, that rule may not have been effective, and the PLWDs are now voicing out against such alleged marginalisation. They revealed that many of them are still unconnected and are digitally excluded even though their status is known to the telecom operators, telcos.
From available statistics, about 11-24 per cent of Nigeria’s population is digitally excluded, without any access to telecoms services. The PLWDs say they occupy a larger percentage of this population and are now begging the telecom companies and the regulator to help them belong to the digitally included.
The Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disabilities, JONAPWD, recently reported that there were neither accessible services nor affordable devices made available by the operators for the PLWDs to purchase.
At a Consumer Parliament put together by the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, recently in Lagos, the Director of Public Policy, Sub-Saharan Africa, SSA – Government and Regulatory Affairs, GSMA, Mr Kamal Tamawa said that there are an estimated 1.3 billion people experiencing significant disability globally.
He noted that the number represents 60 per cent of the world population which implies that one in six people is living with one form of disability or the other.
Tamawa said: “Eighty per cent of these people are found in developing countries like Nigeria and majority of these persons are without access to telecom services.”
He explained that a survey, Mobile disability gap, conducted by the GSMA in 2020 revealed that people with disability are 55 per cent less likely to own a mobile phone than people without disability and in Nigeria, the gap is 14 per cent.
He also said: “People with disability are 16 per cent less likely to own a smartphone than people without disability.
“People with disability are less likely to be aware of mobile internet and the gap in Nigeria is 24 per cent.
“It means that there are a lot of people who might even have access to the devices but do not understand them.
“In Mobile internet usage, there is a large disability gap on mobile internet usage. In Kenya and Bangladesh, they are 85 and 84 per cent respectively who are less likely to use mobile internet. In Nigeria, it’s 11 per cent.”
Why the gap exists
Kamal said there are many reasons for disability gap. They include affordability of devices, availability of suitable services, awareness and interest problems.
Corroborating him, some of the PLWDs at the event recounted frustrations and sought solutions to their problems.
One of them said: “We are the most marginalised set of people, to the extent that even when we seek solutions from the Customer care centres of the telcos, we only get frustrated instead. Sometimes, we will call for over 30 minutes without response. Ordinarily, they are supposed to maintain a record which shows the demography of callers. So, an operator that did not take the call of a PLWD seriously is wicked, because the action is deliberate.”
Another visually impaired lady said: “Several things may be wrong in this country, but it is unheard of, that the plights of people living with disabilities are treated with levity. We suffer in the hands of telecom operators; we suffer in the hands of banks. For instance, the cash reader doesn’t appear in the new money any more. When you bring N1000, it will tell you that it is N200. Is that not the highest negligence of people who cannot help themselves?” she queried.
NCC apologises
However, the NCC sympathises with the PLWDs but revealed it has put so many efforts in place which consider their wellbeing. Some of these efforts, according to NCC, come through researches, policies and more.
The Commission’s Director, Research and Development, Mr Ismail Adedigba, admitted that notwithstanding those efforts, there are still a lot of gaps.
“NCC believes that research is very key because through that, you can find out what is going on and there are a lot of emerging issues going on, until you look deep down into research, you won’t be able to do it.
“In the last few years, we target research on people with disabilities and as at today, we have about three key research prototypes targeted at this level of people.
“We have a smart walking stick which was researched on and developed by the Federal University of Technology Minna.
“The walking stick is very sensitive and has hole detection and other obstacles that can harm them while moving about. At the same time, it has a flash light, Bluetooth and it even has battery charging points.
“The digital walking stick can assist this set of people tremendously. But what we noticed, unfortunately is that this device needs to be charged and to charge in a society with epileptic power supply is a challenge
“We also fabricated wireless device system that helps people living with disabilities charge devices without looking for charging points. They only need to put their devices on the solution and the deed is done. We also devised wearable wristbands which aid easy tracking when PLWDs get lost. With effective collaboration, we will get better in time.”
Telcos confess
Also, the telcos admitted that the data of the PLWDs collected served nothing more than just identification. However, they all promised to channel efforts towards including them in the works, henceforth.
Head Regulatory Affairs Globacom, Mr Ifiok said: “For now, that information is used just for SIM registration and identification issues. Although PLWDs are given priority attention in our organisation when they come for SIM replacement, I think we can do better by moving forward from there,” he added.
GM, Customer Operations, MTN, Mr Egerton Idehen, said: “We are looking at investing in self- service solutions and I think that’s the way to go. Normally, they come to us but we are now looking at how we will begin to go to them.
Head, Contact and Customer Operations, Airtel Network Nigeria, Mrs Susan Onuigbo said that Airtel is pushing inclusion but in different angles.
Onuigbo said: “The truth is that, we may be pushing the inclusion from an angle that is different from what we have discussed today.
“One of them is to start segmenting our customers from the data we got from KYC which we do not use other than for identification.
Director, Marketing at 9mobile, Kenechukwu Okonkwo, said: “When you talk about the disabilities, the next thing that comes to mind is to put a ram and give priority service and it ends at that.
“But hearing them today has kind of exposed our own inabilities. From a service point of view, something as simple as collaborating with the NCC in a way that we use KYC data to serve a person living with disability, will be very interesting”
Going by the apologies and confessions, stakeholders say they would love to see a quick regulation and policy frameworks which tend to consider that people living with disabilities have equal rights to comfort and top notch telecom services as their able-bodied counterparts.
Source: Vanguard