The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has banned leading network, MTN Nigeria and six other telecoms companies from engaging in promotions and other lotteries due to prevailing challenges faced by phone subscribers in the country.
Making the announcement on Tuesday, Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, declared that the ban takes immediate effect and cuts across all proposed and approved promotions including those already approved by the telecoms regulator.
According to NCC, “this ban is with immediate effect and shall continue to remain in force until such a time as may be determined by the Commission.”
Other companies affected are Globacom Limited, Etisalat, Airtel Networks Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Plc, Visafone Communications Limited and MultiLinks Telecoms Limited. All seven telephone operators are banned from organising any promotions or lotteries for their current and potential subscribers until further notice.
NCC assures all telecoms service subscribers that it will ensure that the Quality of Service offered by the operators across all networks continue to deliver value to their customers.
NCC is taking this decision because it has been inundated with several complaints from consumers and other industry stakeholders against the various promotions and lotteries organised on their networks by telecoms operators.
The NCC Director, Public Affairs, explained in the statement that after a careful evaluation, NCC found that the promos have increased the number of minutes available to subscribers for use within a limited period, thereby creating congestion in the networks as subscribers try to use up the available minutes within the stipulated time.
The statement also pointed out that on-net calls were being offered by operators at tariffs well below the prevailing inter-connect rates, thereby introducing anti-competitive practices. It also adds that the termination of calls were becoming increasingly difficult from one network to another and overall consumer experience on the networks has become very poor, thereby making it extremely difficult for subscribers to make calls successfully.
According to Ojobo, in order to sustain the integrity of the networks, protect the general interest of consumers and uphold the socio-economic impact of these promos on the network operators and other relevant stakeholders, NCC therefore banned all promos and lotteries by the operators.
