See the number of tariff plans approved by the NCC

• The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecom firms to restrict their bundles and tariff plans to seven
• The commission said the move is to ensure fairness and a straightforward consumer knowledge of tariffs and plans
• It also issued a deadline to the operators to migrate subscribers to the new simplified plans

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued new regulations mandating that telecommunication companies limit the number of tariff plans available to seven.

The NCC said that telecom firms are immediately mandated to simplify the complexity of their plans and bundles, limiting the number seven.

Telecommunication companies get new directives to simplify tariff plans and bundles Credit: NOVARTIS
Source: UGC

New tariffs and bundles are now streamlined to seven

The executive vice chairman of the commission, Aminu Maida, stressed the importance of clear, understandable information for consumers, stating that the guidelines seek to boost transparency, improve consumers' knowledge, and enhance fair competition among the licensees.

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Reports say Maida said that operators must provide clear and detailed information about all tariff components and conditions, stating the promotional offers now need to be stand-alone products with transparent terms and validity periods.

NCC also introduced a stricter approval process for promotional elements, requiring prior authorization. Operators are now expected to submit reports showing their tariff plans, bundles, promotions, and service quality metrics.

NCC threatens operators with sanctions

NCC said:

“Develop and submit detailed migration plans to transition subscribers smoothly to new tariff plans, without loss of service quality or benefits.” 

The regulator also said that telecommunication firms have been given until December 3, 2024, to migrate subscribers to the new simplified tariff plans.

The operators can maintain only one bonus-led subscriber acquisition plan for six months.

“Operators can choose to maintain only one (1) bonus-led new subscriber acquisition plan. However, a new subscriber can only be retained on such plan for a limited period of six (6) months before being migrated to a standard tariff plan of their choice,” the NCC stated.

The NCC also directed telecommunication firms to inform subscribers of any tariff changes 30 days before.

The telecom regulator threatened to sanction any operator that violates the new directives.

The NCC warned that “Non-compliance will result in penalties, including fines, suspension of tariff approvals, or other regulatory actions as set out in the Act, related regulatory instruments, and the subsisting Enforcement Process Regulation.

NCC orders reactivation of barred lines

The development comes amid the chaos created by NCC's deadline to link their phone lines to NINs.

Telecom firms barred millions of phone lines last week following NCC’s deadline. 

The commission, however, directed that the lines be reactivated to avoid further chaos.

NCC reportedly issues new deadline For Nigerians to link their SIM

Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directed telecommunication companies to extend the NIN-SIM verification deadline beyond the July 31 deadline.

Last week, the NCC asked telecom operators to reactivate mobile lines previously barred due to NIN-SIM verification challenges.

Many telecom subscribers were barred from making, receiving, or sending SMS via their phones due to their inability to properly verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their subscribers’ SIMs.

Source: Legit.ng