NCC bans promos, lotteries by GSM companies, others

The Nigerian Communication Commission has banned all promotions and lotteries being run by telecommunications network operators in the country. The commission, in a statement on Monday, cited overwhelming consumer complaints as the main

reason for its action.

The ban, which takes immediate effect, affects Globacom, MTN, Intercellular Nigeria Plc, Visafone, Etisalat, Airtel Networks Limited and MultiLinks Telecoms Limited.

The Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, confirmed that the commission had, in recent times, been inundated with several complaints from consumers and industry stakeholders against the various promotions being offered by the operators.

He said NCC carefully evaluated the complaints received, especially against the backdrop of sustaining the integrity of mobile networks, general interest of the consumers, socio-economic impact of the promotions on operators and other relevant stakeholders before taking its decision.

The decision, he said, also dovetailed into the commission’s statutory responsibilities such as to protect and promote the interest of consumers against unfair practices, promote fair competition in the industry by protecting operators from misuse of market power and anti-competitive/unfair practices by other operators.

Ojobo said, “The commission has banned all promotions by telecommunications network operators as well as lotteries being carried out on such networks. This ban covers all proposed and approved promotions and lotteries on which the commission has given approval further to the Memorandum of Understanding entered into with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.”

“This ban is with immediate effect and shall continue to remain in force until such a time as may be determined by the commission.”

Explaining the reasons for the ban, Ojobo said the promotions had increased the number of minutes available to subscribers for use within a limited period of time thereby, creating congestion on the networks, as subscribers tried to use up the available minutes within the stipulated time.

Furthermore, NCC said it had observed that on-net calls were now being offered by operators at tariffs well below the prevailing inter-connect rates, thereby introducing anti-competitive practices and behaviour.

It said termination of calls was becoming increasingly difficult from one network to another, and overall consumer experience on the networks had become very poor, making it extremely difficult for subscribers to make calls successfully.

Ojobo assured telecommunications consumers of NCC’s resolve to ensure that the quality of service offered across all networks was such that delivered value to them.

Airtel had sent a message to its subscribers thus, “Dear customer, further to NCC directive on the ban of lotteries and promos to (by) all mobile operators, Airtel will immediately commence compliance implementation.”

Reaching out to its customers on Monday via SMS, Visafone said, “NCC has directed that all promotions be suspended; however, you will still enjoy the lowest tariffs and best quality in the nation.”

A telecoms subscriber, Mr. Tunde Obakin, commended the move by NCC, saying one of the reasons why there had been poor quality of service was because of the incessant promos by the operators.

Another subscriber, Mr. Emeka Otti, said NCC should come up with conditions for operators who would want to start any form of promo, adding that such conditions should address issues like bad networks during promos.