NCC DIRECTS TELCOS TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH TARIFF PLANS
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Telecommunications companies have been instructed to streamline their rate plans, bundles, and promotional efforts by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
In response to telecoms’ agitation for the NCC’s approval to raise price plans, many Nigerians have recently expressed anger over how their airtime and data plans, which used to last longer, now expire in a matter of days.
In a statement on Monday, NCC spokesperson Reuben Muoka stated that the regulator has ordered all telcos to provide their customers with accurate, comprehensible, and transparent information regarding the pricing of phone, SMS, and data services.
“The guideline is the outcome of consultations with industry stakeholders, including MNOs and Consumer Focus Groups, and extensive data analysis on consumer preferences and expectations,” he said.
According to Muoka, on July 29, 2024, the regulator sent the directive to carriers such as MTN, Airtel, and others.
It required mobile network operators (MNOs) to release an extensive table outlining the characteristics of their bundle offerings and tariff plans.
“The table should contain all necessary information for subscribers to make informed decisions, including details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers can opt-in or out, terms and conditions for renewal, and rollover policies,” Muoka said.
“The objectives of the simplification guidelines are to reduce the complexity of tariff plans and bundles, ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans, protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information so that they make informed decisions, and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures.
“Service providers are also required to display all relevant information about their tariffs, such as the name of the plan, price, validity period, price-per-second for on or off-network and international calls, expected data speeds, and fair usage policies.
“Operators can maintain existing bonus-led tariff plans till 31st December 2024, within which period operators are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans,” the directive stated.
According to official figures released by the FCC, Nigeria had over 224 million customers as of December 2023. With more than 87 million customers, MTN holds the largest market share of any licensed mobile network operator (MNO) in the nation at 38.79%. 9Mobile has 13.9 million customers, whereas Globacom and Airtel both have 61 million subscribers.
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