The hyper-inflationary trend in Nigeria is set to be worsened as the National Communications Commission, NCC, has issued a circular to telecommunication companies to step up data rates in the face of economic crisis.
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In a letter dated November 1 to mobile operators in the country, the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has directed the telecommunication companies to initiate a new data tariff regime from December 1, 2016 in what is effectively a price increase.
According to the official letter which was seen by TheCable News, the regulator stated that the interim floor price for data services was 0.90k/MB for big operators, and that “this rate will subsist pending the finalisation of the study on the determination of cost based pricing for retail broadband and data services in Nigeria”.
“In order to provide a level playing field for all operators in the industry, small operators and new entrants to acquire market share and operate profitably small operators and new entrants are hereby exempted for the price floor for data services,” it said.
“For the avoidance of doubt a small operator is one that has less than 7.5 percent market share and a new entrant is an operator that has operated less than three years in the market.
“All operators are to ensure that subscribers are not automatically migrated to pay-as-you-go platform.
“Also, note that effective date for the interim price floor is December 1, 2016.”
Recall that we reported earlier on Monday, that MTN sent messages to its customers stating that there would an increase in its data tariffs on December 1.
The message read: “Dear customer, please be informed that from December 1, some MTN data tariffs will be increased to reflect the new rates set by the NCC to operators.”
