By Chinenye Anuforo
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced new regulations which mandates all telecommunication operators to restrict the number of available tariff plans to a maximum of seven.
Effective immediately, telecom operators are mandated to reduce the complexity of their tariff plans and bundles limiting the total number to 100.
The executive vice-chairman of the NCC, Aminu Maida, emphasised the importance of clear and understandable information for consumers, saying, “The guidelines aim to enhance transparency, improve consumer understanding, and foster fair competition amongst licensees of the commission. Full disclosure of all tariff components and conditions is mandatory.”
To enhance consumer understanding, operators are expected to provide clear and detailed information about all tariff components and conditions. Promotional offers are now required to be stand-alone products with clear terms and validity periods.
The commission has also introduced a stricter approval process for promotional elements which now requires prior authorisation and operators are expected to submit reports detailing their tariff plans, bundles, promotions and service quality metrics.
“Develop and submit detailed migration plans to transition subscribers smoothly to new tariff plans, without loss of service quality or benefits,” the regulator mandated.
To ensure a smooth transition, operators have been given until December 3 to migrate existing subscribers to the new simplified tariff plans. However, they can maintain only one bonus-led new subscriber acquisition plan, valid for a maximum of 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 emphasizes the importance of consumer education and transparency, requiring operators to inform subscribers of any tariff changes at least 30 days in advance.
“Operators must always notify subscribers of any changes to their tariff plans, including migration to new plans, at least 30 days in advance,” the NCC directed.
Non-compliance with the new guidelines will result in penalties, including fines and suspension of tariff approvals.
“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,” the NCC warned.