NCC to announce new tariff plan on December 13th

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is set to release a new tariff plan for operators in the telecommunications industry on December 13th. This move is part of the commission's ongoing efforts to simplify tariff plans.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Maida Wada, disclosed this during an interactive session with the media in Abuja. Dr. Wada was represented by the Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka.

According to the Commission, the new tariff plan's unveiling date remains unchanged, unlike the previously announced date of October 27th. 

Recall that the Commission had earlier announced October 27th as the release date for the new tariff plan but was not ready due to the non-conclusion of the process by stakeholders.

The NCC has also directed operators to limit their tariff and promotional plans to only seven. This directive aims to reduce the complexity of tariff plans and bundles, ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans, protect consumers' interests, and promote fair competition among licensees.

"On 13th December, 2024 a new tariff plan will be announced against the old date of October 27th as announced. We have gotten stakeholders to make inputs.  

"At the end of completing the exercise, a limit has been giving to the operators. With this, no operator is expected to have more than seven tariff plans. We belief that this measure will bring some kind of relief  to telecom consumers and will eliminate misconception on the use of data  and airtime.

The Commission has been carrying out awareness campaign  on this through adverts and advocacy to a large extent."

Speaking further on data depletion complaints by consumers, the NCC boss said, the Commission has carried out a deep dive on this and mandated operators to engage a reputable audit firm  and after the exercise, it found out that there is a wrong perception about data depletion. 

"What consumers must know is that usage of data  are not same on every Android phone.

"As a consumer-centric regulator,the Commission has embarked on public awareness on this for consumers to have better understanding of their data depletion."