Nigerian telcos banned from promotions, lotteries

Tony Ojobo, director public affairs at NCC, said the ban, which affects all promotions including those already approved by the telecoms regulator, takes effect immediately, until a time determined by the communications regulator.

NCC says that it has been receiving several complaints from consumers and industry stakeholders against the various promotions offered by telecommunications operators, hence its decision after a “careful” evaluation.

The promotions have led to unnecessary congestion in the networks, as they have increased the number of minutes available to subscribers for use within a limited period. This makes subscribers to use the available minutes within the stipulated time, hence the congestion.

“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 behavior,” NCC said in the statement.

NCC confirmed that from its findings, termination of calls was becoming increasingly difficult from one network to another and overall consumer experience on the networks has become very poor thereby making it extremely difficult for subscribers to make calls successfully.

“The Commission will 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,” NCC concluded in the statement.

Aside from MTN, the other operators affected include Globacom Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Plc, Visafone Communications Limited, Etisalat, Airtel Networks Limited and MultiLinks Telecoms Limited.