The Nigerian Communications Commission has directed telecommunications operators to standardise their tariffs.
This move, according to the telecom regulator on Monday, aims to provide clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost of voice, SMS, and data services to subscribers.
The NCC’s directive, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector”, mandated mobile network operators 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, including details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers could opt in or out, terms and conditions for renewal, and rollover policies, the regulator said.
According to the NCC, the guideline is the outcome of 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 of promotional elements of tariff plans, protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information so that they make informed decisions, and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures,” the NCC noted.
Service providers are also required to display all relevant information about their tariffs, such as 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 operators are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans,” the directive stated.
The guidelines further mandated 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.
“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; access fees and asymmetric fee structures must be eliminated,” it added.
The NCC emphasised that while complying with those guidelines, operators must also meet the Key Performance Indicators standards set out in the Quality of Service Regulations.
In recent months, subscribers in Nigeria have been voicing concerns over rapid data depletion.
The NCC had attributed the issue to several factors, including background app activity, automatic updates, GPS usage, and malware.
While telecom operators like MTN and Airtel face criticism, the NCC directed them to conduct independent audits of their billing systems to enhance transparency.
The telecom regulator said it was aiming for a 50 per cent improvement in service quality by the end of 2024 and encouraged users to monitor data usage and consider larger data plans if necessary.