The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has tasked telecom operators on transparency by simplifying their tariff plans, bundles and promotional activities.
The directive was contained in a press release, 2024/Vol. 2/No.11, by the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, dated 5 August, 2024.
The directive by the NCC was aimed at providing clear, easy-to-understand and accurate information about the cost of voice, short messaging service (SMS) and data services to subscribers.
As stated in the release, the directive, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” was issued on July 29, 2024.
“It mandates Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to publish a comprehensive table showing the features of their tariff plans and bundle offers.
“The table should contain all necessary information for subscribers to make informed decisions.
“These include details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers can opt-in or out, terms and conditions for renewal and rollover policies,” it was stated in the release.
The NCC further stated that the guideline was the outcome of consultations with industry stakeholders.
The stakeholders, NCC added, included MNOs and Consumer Focus Groups, and extensive data analysis on consumer preferences and expectations.
“The objectives of the simplification guidelines are to reduce the complexity of tariff plans and bundles, ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans, protect consumers’ interests.
“This is by providing clear and understandable tariff information so that they make informed decisions, and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures,” NCC stated.
The Commission added that service providers were also required to display all relevant information about their tariffs.
These include the name of the plan, price, validity period, price-per-second for on or off-network and international calls, expected data speeds and fair usage policies.
“Operators can maintain existing bonus-led tariff plans till 31 December 2024, within which period operators are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans,” the directive stated.
The guidelines further mandate 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.
The NCC emphasised that, while complying with these guidelines, operators must also meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) standards set out in the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations.
