NCC Charges Telecoms Operators On Transparent Billing

The Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) has urged telecoms operators to be transparent in their billing practices.
The commission gave the charge in the 2014 First Quarter Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Report.
A copy of the reports, which was made available to our correspondent in Lagos, said that its Compliance Monitoring and  Enforcement  Department recently  visited  mobile network operators  and found out that there was no accurate database of approved tariff plan.
It said that it found out that identified product offerings/ packages from Globacom and Airtel were below the Mobile Terminal Rate (MTR) of N6.40.
It said that the Glo Offala calls was 5 kobo per second or N3.00 per minute, while the Airtel Big Family package was10 kobo per second or N6.00 per minute.
The NCC directed Globacom and Airtel to remove the packages.
“It is imperative that network carriers are transparent, fair and truthful in their billing practices as consumers deserve nothing less,’’ it said.
The commission would also need to acquire tariff monitoring equipment to facilitate a robust and effective tariff monitoring regime.
“The compliance visit was to conduct a sample billing test and review various billing scenarios on all major operators to ensure that the operators are fair, truthful and accurate in their billing practices.
It noted that Section  89  of  the  Nigerian  Communications  Act,  2003 mandated it to make such visits to ensure fair competition, ethical market practices and optimal quality of service in the telecoms industry.