Nigerian Communications Commission bans all promos from telecoms companies
The Nigerian Communications Commission has stopped promos and lotteries by
GSM firms in the country, to address the poor quality of telecoms
services. The commission made the announcement in a PRESS STATEMENT:
The
Commission has, in recent times been inundated with several complaints
from consumers, Industry Stakeholders against the various promotions
offered by Telecommunications Operators.
Consistent with its
processes, the Commission has carefully evaluated the complaints
received especially against the backdrop of sustaining the integrity of
the networks, the general interest of the consumers, the socio-economic
impact of these promotions on Operators and other relevant stakeholders.The Commission is also mindful of its statutory responsibilities such
as; to protect and promote the interest of consumers against unfair
practices, promote fair competition in the industry by protecting
Operators from misuse of market power and anti-competitive/unfair
practices by other Operators.
i. In due regard to the
afore-mentioned responsibilities therefore and having observed that
these promotions have increased the number of minutes available to
subscribers for use within a limited period of time thereby creating
congestion in the networks as subscribers try to use up the available
minutes within the stipulated time.
ii. That on-net calls were
now being offered by Operators at tariffs well below the prevailing
inter-connect rates thereby introducing anti-competitive practices and
behaviour.
iii. That termination of calls were becoming
increasingly difficult from one network to another and overall consumer
experience on the networks has become very poor thereby making it
extremely difficult for subscribers to make calls successfully.
Consequent upon the above-mentioned, the Commission therefore has
banned all promotions by Telecommunications Network Operators as well as
lotteries being carried out on such networks. This ban covers all
proposed and approved promotions and lotteries on which the Commission
has given approval further to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
entered into with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).
This ban is with immediate effect and shall continue to remain in force
until such a time as may be determined by the Commission. The Telecom
Operators affected by this include the following:
• GLOBACOM LTD
• MTN
• INTERCELLULAR NIG PLC
• VISAFONE COMMS LTD
• ETISALAT
• AIRTEL NETWORKS LTD
• MULTILINKS TELECOMS LTD
The Commission wishes to assure all Telecommunications consumers of its
resolve to ensure that the Quality of Service offered across all
networks is such that delivers value to the consumers.
Tony Ojobo
Director, Public Affairs
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