The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has asked all
telecommunications services providers to reverse the upward tariff adjustments
for some voice and data services.
Reuben Muoka, director, public affairs, NCC disclosed this
in a statement on Wednesday.
The commission, through a letter dated October 12, 2022,
directed the affected Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to reverse the upward
tariff adjustment.
According to the commission, the unilateral 10 percent
upward tariff adjustments for some voice and data services by the service
providers on their networks had been approved and implemented.
The commission, however, said, the reversal is to allow
further consultations with all industry stakeholders on the best approaches
that will protect and uphold the interest of both the consumers and the service
providers.
“The consideration for 10 percent approval for tariff
adjustments for different voice and data packages was in line with the mandates
of the commission as provided by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and
other extant Regulations and Guidelines, as this was within the provisions of
the existing price floor and price cap as determined for the industry,” the
commission said.
“The decision was also taken after a critical and realistic
review and analysis of the operational environment and the current business
climate in Nigeria, as it affects all sectors of the economy.
“Furthermore, even
though the tariff adjustment was proposed and provisionally approved by the
management, pending the final approval of the board of the commission, in the
end, it did not have the approval of the board of the commission. As a result,
it is reversed.
“The honourable minister of communications and digital
economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has
maintained that his priority is to protect the citizens and ensure justice to
all stakeholders involved. As such,
anything that will bring more hardship at this critical time will not be
accepted.
“This was also why he obtained the approval of President
Muhammadu Buhari for the suspension of the proposed 5 percent excise duty, in
order to maintain a conducive enabling environment for the telecom
operators. Much as there is an increase
in the cost of production, the provision of telecom services is still very
profitable and the subscribers mustn’t be subjected to a hike in charges.”
The commission, however, added that it will continue to
entrench very transparent processes and procedures for rate determination in
the industry.
“The process is
usually carried out with wide industry consultation. It is through these
processes that price floors and price caps for data and voice services are
benchmarked, regularly reviewed, and determined from time to time,” it added
“The commission will continue to abide by this time-tested
process and international best practice to ensure efficient pricing mechanisms
for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com