NCC Slashes Call Tariffs

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
has released new set of interconnection rates
for voice services.
This can be seen as the desired response of
many Nigerians, in line with complaints made
over the high tariffs charged by these telecoms
operators in the country.
The Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo
told a news conference in Abuja that the new
rates which takes effect from 1st April and will
last for the next three years and will
significantly favour subscribers.
The review, which will start from April 1, 2013,
was agreed on after comprehensive
consultations with various stakeholders, the NCC
said in a statement on Thursday.
“The new termination rates, which significantly
reviewed prices downwards, are informed by
the depth of competition in the industry, while
taking into consideration the position of new
entrants and small operators,” the commission
said in the statement.
According to NCC, the termination rates for
voice services provided by new entrants and
small operators in Nigeria irrespective of the
originating network shall be N6.40 from April
1, 2013; N5.20 from April 1, 2014; and N3.90
from April 1, 2015.
The termination rates for voice services
provided by other operators irrespective of the
originating network shall be N4.90 from April
1, 2013; N4.40 from April 1, 2014; and N3.90
from April 1, 2015.
The current rate, which is symmetric to all
operators, is N8.2.
For new entrants and small operators, the tariff
drop will be by 21.95 per cent from April 1 this
year, while for other operators, the drop will
be by 40.2 per cent.
“This determination shall take effect from April
1, 2013, and remain valid and binding on
licensees for the next three years until further
reviewed by the commission,” the NCC
maintained.
According to the NCC, a new entrant is a newly
licensed operator entering an existing or new
market within zero and three years, while a
small operator, for the purpose of the
determination, is an existing operator with a
market share of zero to 7.5 per cent in terms
of subscriber base.
It will be recalled that the current
interconnection rate regulation was
implemented through the NCC Interconnection
Rate Determination issued on December 21,
2009. Since then, the Nigerian communications
market has seen tremendous growth in both,
subscriber numbers as well as traffic volumes
and available technologies.
In June 2012, the commission appointed Price
Water House Coopers (PWC) to undertake a cost
study for voice interconnection.
In line with its commitment to a policy of
openness, transparency, fairness, and
participatory regulation, the commission
informed stakeholders in July 2012 of its
engagement of PWC to advise on the review of
interconnection rates for mobile and fixed
telephony services.
After series of meetings with operators and
other stakeholders, PWC provided the
commission with recommendations related to
the regulation of voice interconnection.
culled from channelstv.com