Good News: NCC Suspends Increase of Data Price

The Nigerian Communications Commission on Wednesday announced the immediate suspension of the new minimum pricing template for data services by mobile operators.

The new rate, which would have led to price increase in data for some Nigerians, was scheduled to take effect from December 1.

The NCC said the decision is to allow for further consultation.

The NCC’s decision comes a few hours after the Senate ordered a stop to the planned increase.
Details later.

Nigerian Communications Commission
NCC suspends directive on data segment price floor. Following the concerns that visited the directive to introduce price floor for data segment of the telecommunications sector beginning from December 1, 2016, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended any further action in that direction.

The decision to suspend this directive was taken after due consultation with industry stakeholders and the general complaints by Consumers across the country.
The Commission has weighed all of this and consequently asked all operators to maintain the status quo until the conclusion of study to determine retail prices for broadband and data services in Nigeria.

Recall that the Commission wrote to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on November 1, 2016 on the determination of an interim price floor for data services after the stakeholder’s consultative meeting of October 19, 2016.

The decision to have a price floor was primarily to promote a level playing field for all operators in the industry, encourage small operators and new entrants.
The price floor in 2014 was N3.11k/MB but was removed in 2015. The price floor that was supposed to flag off on December 1, 2016 was N0.90k/MB.

In taking that decision, the smaller operators were exempted from the new price regime, by virtue of their small market share. The decision on the price floor was taken in order to protect the consumers who are at the receiving end and save the smaller operators from predatory services that are likely to suffocate them and push them into extinction.

The price floor is not an increase in price but a regulatory safeguard put in place by the telecommunications regulator to check anti-competitive practices by dominant operators.

This statement clarifies the insinuation in some quarters that the regulator has fixed prices for data services. This is not true because the NCC does not fix prices but provides regulatory guidelines to protect the consumers, deepen investments and safeguard the industry from imminent collapse.

Before the new suspended price floor of N0.90k/MB, the industry average for dominant operators including MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, EMTS Limited (Etisalat) and Airtel Nigeria Limited was N0.53k/MB.
Etisalat offered (N0.94k/MB), Airtel (N0.52k/MB), MTN (N0.45k/MB) and Globacom (N0.21k/MB).

The smaller operators/ new entrants charge the following: Smile Communications N0.84k/MB, Spectranet N0.58k/MB and NATCOMS (NTEL) N0.72k/MB.
The NCC as a responsive agency of government takes into consideration the feelings of the consumers and so decided to suspend the new price floor.
Signed
Tony Ojobo
Director, Public Affairs
​​​​​​NCC
Source: PremiumTimesng

10 comments:

  1. A sound clap kpa

    Thanks wizy, for telling us
    At least I now know that my dry fasting isn't in vein

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nna eeh, and i don sub and doubke sub to last me through out the xmas, anyway sha, we still live on

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mtn has stop night plan unbelievable

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those people desserve to be slapped

      Delete
  4. I think MTN is behind this. They may have paid some greedy NCC officials to hike data sub rates. If u notice, they were the first and only network to convey such a bad report. This is my idea, but think of it this way. MTN definitely has sympathizers in NCC who may also have helped them in reducing the fine imposed on them months ago. And despite the reduction, the fine still seem huge. Now, it could be calculated attempt to regain that fine from their subscribers. Let us nit forget that they are a private entity, and as such, their modus operandi is based on capitalism. And capitalism ensures profitability at almost any cost. So, thus, the customers are at the receiving end. May God epp our smartphones and internet in dis "kontri"

    ReplyDelete