Newscenter Media News The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denied granting telecommunications companies in the country like MTN, Glo and others permission to increase tariffs.
Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the NCC, stated this on his verified X account on Saturday addressing the false information circulating within the telecom sector.
Reports had emerged across some sections of the media that the telecoms industry regulator had granted the request of the network providers to increase tariffs.
The report disclosed that NCC had approved tariff increases for MTN, Airtel, Glo, and other telecom companies, affecting voice, SMS, data, and other services, adding that the development had resulted in higher costs for Nigerians.
Ripples Nigeria reports that the confusion could have stemmed from a document, titled, “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” recently posted on the NCC’s website.
The Commission in the document, highlighted that full disclosure of all tariff components and conditions was mandatory and asked telcos to ensure that all marketing and promotional materials are clear and comprehensible.
In the guidance which took effect on July 29, 2024, the NCC said all the operators must make available every detail of their tariffs.
“Every Operator is required to publish on its website (in a tab dedicated to tariff information), a table showing characteristics of each tariff plan and bundle it offers.
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“The table must display all information which is necessary to enable the subscriber to make a comparison between the offered tariff plan and others, and thereby make an informed choice,” it said.
NCC added that whenever a subscriber requests their account balance through the *310#, the response must include information such as Name of Plan and Validity Period (if applicable); rate per second (and rate per minute) on-net/off-net; rate per megabyte/kilobyte/gigabyte; and rate per SMS on-net/off-net.
Reacting to the confusion that trailed the announcement, Maida described the report as “fake news” and stressed that there have been no new tariff hikes for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) or any increases in telecom services for consumers.
He wrote, “Like the others, this is FAKE NEWS! The Commission has neither approved any Telecom Tariff plans nor hike as this report claims”.
Similarly, the NCC in a disclaimer debunked the report of the increase.
“The NCC has neither approved any new Telecom Tariff Plans nor hike as reported on online. The public is advised to please disregard.
NCC issued a directive for all operators to simplify their current tariff plans in a transparent & fair manner for consumers” it clarified.
By: Babajide Okeowo
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