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The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has sensitized network operators and their customers to existing guidelines and best practices on the incidence of spam and unsolicited electronic communications (UEC).
This follows concerns raised by clients through various outlets regarding a recent unsolicited message from a political party.
To this end, the chamber unequivocally stated that “its members, the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), are politically neutral, and their policies and principles prohibit the promotion of any political party” and as an industry, they are “committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure the continued growth of our democracy ”.
They took the opportunity to clarify and educate clients about the incidence of unsolicited political messages.
They claimed that the mobile network operators themselves do not send UECs for or on behalf of any political party, as political parties tend to rely on content providers to do bulk SMS transfers on their behalf.
These content providers have over time created databases of phone numbers from various sources, including online, social media, etc.
In addition, they indicated that the political parties themselves have access to data they obtain through their own sources such as their fundraising activities and other events, so these unsolicited messages may not necessarily come from the operator that customers use.
“It could come from any source if your number is part of their specific database,” the statement said.
The Telecommunications Chamber also assured clients that they will work closely with the National Communications Authority to support ongoing plans to implement filtering systems and blacklist mechanisms to protect them.
They advised customers who wish to unsubscribe from the unsolicited political message or any other unsolicited message to write “STOP (space) SENDER’S NAME” and send to the number from which the message or call was sent to stop receiving such messages .
According to the Chamber, if the UECs persist, customers should contact their service provider to omit them from the promotional list “and the Regulator as a last resort.”
“The mobile industry, beyond being responsible to the customer, remains committed to providing quality voice and data services, as well as that new digital world to its customers,” they concluded.
