NCC tasks operators on tariff simplification, quality of service

Charges MNOs on consumers’ sensitisation

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has compelled telecom operators to ensure that tariff simplification does not impede the quality of telephony services in the country.

The NCC, in the “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector (As Amended),” dated November 2024, and just released, said compliance with standards and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set out in the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations is mandatory. It stressed that any degradation in service quality due to tariff changes or promotions must be addressed immediately.

Indeed, pursuant to the powers granted to the telecoms sector regulatory commission by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the NCC said operators must report QoS metrics as part of their quarterly submissions.

In the 11-page document sighted by The Guardian, the NCC said that the issuance of the new framework was a sequel to a considerable number of consultations, which the Commission had made with the telecoms industry, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem in the West African countries.

According to the Commission, the guideline is the “outcome of consultations with industry stakeholders, including Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Consumer Focus Groups, and extensive data analysis on consumer preferences and expectations.”

The regulator informed that the number of tariff plans offered per operator is limited to seven and that the number of bundles offered per operator is limited to 100.

NCC, which stated that device financing was not counted as part of the tariff plans, said that Fixed Broadband/Fibre plans had been excluded from the bundle cap/count.

Besides, in the document, signed by the Executive Commissioner, Dr Aminu Maida, NCC requested all licensees to channel any issues they might have on the actual implementation of the guidance directly to the Commission for attention.

The NCC, which also restated it had issued the document, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” on July 29 this year for further stakeholders’ inputs, therefore, urged MNOs to simplify their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities in the country’s telecoms space before implementing the tariff simplification guidance.

According to the NCC, this step is to ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans, and protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information.

The Commission stressed that the guidance was designed to empower telecom consumers to make informed decisions and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures in the country.

The NCC, while calling for more consumer education before migrating subscribers to simplified tariff plans, further stated: “Operators can maintain existing bonus-led tariff plans till December 31, 2024, within which period operators are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans.”

The guidelines further stated that MNOs must communicate tariffs to subscribers in “clear language and a user-friendly format,” with full disclosure of a subscriber’s tariff plan via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

Additionally, “operators must offer stand-alone data bundles at fair prices to avoid tying consumers with products they do not need; bonuses on promotions must be stated in actual value; access fees and asymmetric fee structures must be eliminated,” among other conditions.