The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, says charges on USSD banking transactions are justified, dismissing widespread consumer complaints as a misunderstanding of how telecom services operate.

Adebayo made the clarification during a radio programme on Nigeria Info FM 99.3.

Responding to concerns over the N6.98 USSD charge, he said the fee reflected the cost of connectivity provided by telecom operators, regardless of whether the banking transaction was successfully completed or not.

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol that is used to send text messages. USSD is similar to Short Message Service (SMS).

USSD uses codes made up of the characters that are available on a mobile phone. A USSD message, which can be up to 182 characters long, establishes a real-time communication session between the phone and another device — typically, a network or server.

“The phone company is like a taxi taking you to the bank’s digital office. Even if the bank’s system is down when you get there, you still have to pay the taxi man,” he said.

He explained that telecom operators provided network access for each transaction attempt, noting that repeated attempts due to failed bank systems still consumed network resources.

On the issue of data expiration, Adebayo said data bundles are structured within specific validity periods and are not designed for indefinite use.

“You can’t carry it in perpetuity, but you have the benefit of extending it without losing unused portions by just resubscribing,” he said.

He added that subscribers could retain unused data through rollover benefits, provided they renew their subscriptions before expiration.

Addressing concerns about toll-free lines, Adebayo clarified that such services operated on a reverse billing model rather than being entirely free.

“Nothing is free. These are reverse charge lines where the business or government pays for the calls,” he said.

He noted that economic constraints had reduced the number of organisations willing to absorb such costs.

The ALTON chairman also disclosed that the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria were reviewing data to determine responsibility for failed USSD transactions.

He emphasised that while regulators impose penalties on operators for service lapses, broader challenges such as power shortages and infrastructure vandalism continued to affect service quality.

Adebayo called for increased public awareness and collective responsibility in protecting telecom infrastructure, stressing that better understanding of industry operations would help address consumer concerns. (NAN)