Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital Territory is set to host over 54-member nations of the African Union (AU) Conference of African Telecommunications Regulators on Consumer Affairs, CATCO 2019, with the theme: Empowering the Telecom Consumer in an Era of Technological Evolution.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), disclosed this in a statement last night, saying the fulcrum of the 3-day Conference is to find a way of how regulatory activities of the African continent can be integrated for seamless connectivity to boost customer satisfaction.
The conference is slated for August 20 – 22, 2019.
”This year’s event is geared towards pursuing a continuous collaboration between African telecommunications regulatory of individual countries and their regional bodies such as West Africa Telecommunication Regulatory Association (WATRA), East African Communications Organisation (EACO), and others,” the statement signed by Henry Nkemadu, Director, Public Affairs noted.
Quoting the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the statement added that the Conference will provide the platform for Africans to establish unity, solidarity, collective self-reliance amongst African nations. Thus, 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.
The event will hold at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Participants are expected to provide varying and fresh perspectives to burning issues affecting telecoms consumers and service delivery in Africa. Vital discussions will focus on the current state of the telecom industry in Africa, ways to improve it and how to sustain a healthy telecom industry.
Other areas that will be looked into are; the 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 has West Africa
Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (WATRA), Communications Regulators’
Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) and others are expected to be at this
year’s event.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, 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, not less than 15 African countries
participated in the conference.
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.