By Ibiyemi Mathew
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a directive to telecom operators to reverse the 10% tariff increase for some voice and data services.
Earlier on October 6, Nigerian NewDirect had reported that major telecom operators in the country had increased the cost of their data plan.
Averagely the cost of purchasing a 1.5GB monthly data plan now costs between N1,100 – N1,200 which would have normally cost N1,000 four weeks ago.
Similarly, the cost of purchasing a 10GB monthly bundle which would normally cost N3,000 now costs between N3,300 – N3,400.
Daily bundles such as the 200mb (2 days) which would normally cost N200 now costs N220.
In a press statement issued yesterday, the Commission however noted that the consideration for 10 per cent 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 existing price floor and price cap as determined for the industry.
“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.”
The statement further that read, “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, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has also maintained that his priority is to protect the citizens and ensure justice to all stakeholders involved.
The minister reiterated that anything that will bring more hardship at this critical time will not be accepted.
In view of this consideration, the Commission, through a letter sent on the 12th of October 2022, has directed the affected Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to reverse the upward tariff adjustment.
The Commission further assured that it will continue to entrench very transparent processes and procedures for rates determination in the industry.
“The Commission will continue to abide by this time-tested process and international best practice to ensure efficient pricing mechanism for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria,” the statement read.