The commission’s Head Media and public relations, Mr Reuben Muoka said that details of the penalties have already been communicated to the different operators. However, details of the penalties made available to Saturday Vanguard, shows that MTN Nigeria and its counterpart, Etisalat Nigeria, will pay Three Hundred and Sixty Million naira ) each.
Meanwhile, Airtel is to pay the sum of two hundred and seventy million Naira, (N270,000,000) while Globacom was also slammed with One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira, (N180,000,000) fine. The commission also directed all the affected operators to pay the penalties on or before May 21, 2012 or risk additional payment of two million, five hundred thousand Naira, (N2,500,000) daily, for as long as the contravention lasted.
The commission said that the penalties became necessary as the operators failed to meet with the minimum standard of quality of service including the key performance indicators, KPIs set for them.
Muoka added that the Commission has in line with the provisions of the regulation, monitored the performance of the operators on the different parameters as provided and the result showed that the service providers are in contravention of the provisions and therefore invoked paragraph 13 &
Schedule 3 Paragraph 2 of the Quality of Service Regulation 2012, which provides that any company which contravenes this provision will be liable to pay fine. The operators are to pay the sum of N15, 000, 000. 00 (fifteen million naira only) each for each parameter for a service contravened in the month of March,2012 and a further sum of N2, 500, 000 (two million five hundred thousand naira only) for each parameter for a service for each day the contravention continued throughout the month of April, 2012.
In the letter communicating the penalties to the different operators, signed by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, and the Head of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Engr. Ubale Maska, the Commission said that “ it had noted the performances in the
months of January and February 2012 as being below the specified thresholds, however, for the purpose of enforcement of the new Quality of Service Regulations, the Commission had taken these periods as grace period”.
MTN reacts, explains reasons for poor QoS
Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, MTN, yesterday outlined part of the problems that led to poor quality of service,appealing to NCC to also help in straightening some of them out.
The company’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr Akinwale Goodluck, said that inadequate power supply, lack of adequate security leading to indiscriminate vandalisation of its facilities and multiple regulation and taxation were also responsible for poor services within the time under review.
According to Goodluck, MTN generates up to 80% of its power requirements, expending billions of Naira annually on diesel alone.
He said that “MTN suffers more than seventy cuts to its fibre on a monthly basis. Indeed, in April this year, MTN had cause to publish full page announcements in the newspapers, alerting the public to the growing incidence of criminal damage to MTN’s infrastructure in various parts of the country and the impact on quality of service in the country, particularly the South East, as well as Port Harcourt, and Onitsha, Lagos, Kano and Abuja.
“Moreover, the heightened insecurity in several parts of the country also limited MTN’s ability to carry out routine maintenance and emergency repairs” he added.
Goodluck also recalled several incidents of multiple taxation and over regulation, citing as examples the difficulties encountered by MTN in Abia State last year and last week’s face off between NESREA and NCC over jurisdiction to intervene in specific regulatory issues, leading to the closure of a number of MTN sites in Abuja. In each case, as with numerous such incidents all over the country, MTN’s ability to service its customers has been severely impaired.
He appealed to the NCC to assist the industry to overcome the various challenges that he listed, adding that “no business thrives when its customers complain. It is not in our interest for them to do so. It is our desire that our customers are happy with us or else we do not have a business”.
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Why should these service providers pay such sum to NCC instead of the consumers who are actually losing their cash? NCC should rather compel these service providers to compensate subscribers either by extending their subscriptions (internet users) or giving out bonus airtime to phone calls and not to pay such huge amount to an organization we know will just squander or embezzle such funds. NCC should also listen to the problems enumerated by MTN, which probably is the same thing being experienced by all others and do something towards resolving that.
ReplyDeleteHALELUYAH THANKS NCC WE HOPE U ARE TALKING AND WILL ACT REALITY NOT JUST SWEET TALKS TO NIGERIANS JUST THE WAY OUR GOVENMENT ALWAYS DO(deceptive stories)
ReplyDeleteBECOUSE APART FROM FED STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THESE TELECOM OPERATORS ARE THE SECOND LERGES LOOTERS AND OR ROVERS IN LOOTING HARD EARN NIGERIANS CITIZENS ESPECIALY THE MASSES CONSTUTING MOJORITY THEY USE HIDDEN CHARGES THEY ALWAYS INTRODUCE 419PRODUCTS IN THE NAME OF BONUSES PROMOS,that apart,AS IF THEIR SECONDS AND MINUTES ARE DIFRENT FROM OTHER PART OF THE WORLD BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THEY RUN LIKE BREATH ESPECIALY MTN WHO ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BEING THE FIRST IN THE MARKET MANY ARE FORCE TO BE WITH THEM BECAUSE MANY ARE WITH THEM.PLEASE NCC KEEP YOUR WORDS UP TO TODAY NO NET WORK THAT IS RELIABLE HENCE THEY MAKE INNOCENT NIGERIANS TO BE LIKE MAD MEN AND WOMEN BY HOLDING TWO TO THREE HAND SET AT A TIME JUST BECAUSE U CANT RELY ON ONE IF ONE FAILS ON URGENT CALL U TRY THE OTHER
NIGERIAN MASSES I CRY FOR US
I believe these service providers mean well, they're not just out to make profit but they also want to serve their customers well. Question is, how can they serve their customers satisfactorily when their equipment are being vandalized and there isn't steady power supply. Their service to customers does not also include constant loss of resources through expenses on fuel to run their plants and replacement of stolen and vandalized equipment. The customers should understand these and so should The NCC before they impose such fines on the service providers. Instead of paying such fines to NCC, wouldn't it then be better to, one way or another, compensate the various subscribers for the inconveniences?
ReplyDeleteWhy did NCC penalised Glo so low?
ReplyDeletebecause its a Nigerian company?
Am sure they got the worst services comparing with MTN and etisalat.
NCC should not be partial please!!!