The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunications operators to simplify their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities.
This initiative aims to provide subscribers with clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the costs of voice, short messaging service (SMS) and data services.
In a statement issued by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs Reuben Muoka, the directive, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” was released on July 29, 2024. The directive mandates mobile network operators (MNOs) to publish a comprehensive table detailing their tariff plans and bundle offers.
This table should contain all necessary information for subscribers to make informed decisions. It should include details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers can opt-in or out, terms and conditions for renewal and rollover policies.
The guideline results from consultations with industry stakeholders, including 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 in promotional elements, protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures.
Service providers are also required to display all relevant information about their tariffs. This includes 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 until December 31, 2024, within which period they 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 to products they do not need. Bonuses on promotions must be stated in actual value and access fees and asymmetric fee structures must be eliminated, among other conditions.
The NCC emphasized 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.
