The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has refuted claims that it permitted telecommunications companies such as MTN, Glo, and others to raise their tariffs. Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the NCC, clarified this on his verified X account on Saturday, countering the misinformation circulating within the telecom sector.
The erroneous reports suggested that the NCC had approved tariff increases for major telecom providers, affecting services such as voice calls, SMS, and data, leading to concerns about higher costs for consumers. These reports likely arose from a misinterpretation of a document titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” recently published on the NCC’s website.
The NCC’s document emphasized the importance of full transparency regarding all tariff components and conditions. It required telecommunications companies to ensure that all their marketing and promotional materials were clear and understandable to consumers.
The guidance, which took effect on July 29, 2024, mandated that all operators disclose every detail of their tariffs, but did not authorize any tariff increases.
“Every Operator is required to publish on its website (in a tab dedicated to tariff information), a table showing characteristics of each tariff plan and bundle it offers.
“The table must display all information which is necessary to enable the subscriber to make a comparison between the offered tariff plan and others, and thereby make an informed choice,” it said.
NCC added that whenever a subscriber requests their account balance through the *310#, the response must include information such as Name of Plan and Validity Period (if applicable); rate per second (and rate per minute) on-net/off-net; rate per megabyte/kilobyte/gigabyte; and rate per SMS on-net/off-net.
Reacting to the confusion that trailed the announcement, Maida described the report as “fake news” and stressed that there have been no new tariff hikes for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) or any increases in telecom services for consumers.
He wrote, “Like the others, this is FAKE NEWS! The Commission has neither approved any Telecom Tariff plans nor hike as this report claims”.
Similarly, the NCC in a disclaimer debunked the report of the increase.
“The NCC has neither approved any new Telecom Tariff Plans nor hike as reported on online. The public is advised to please disregard.
NCC issued a directive for all operators to simplify their current tariff plans in a transparent & fair manner for consumers” it clarified.
