“NCC fines should be paid back to mobile subscribers” – NATCOMS

While Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) imposed a heavy N1.17-billion ($7.29-million) fine on the nation’s largest telecommunications companies for poor qualiy of service, Nigeria’s National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) believes the fines should be paid to the Federal Government.

NATCOMS said that the amounts imposed by the NCC will be going to the Federal Goverment of Nigeria, but it should actually be paid back to the 100-million mobile phone subscribers of each of the operators, as they suffer directly from the poor quality of service.

“Why should the NCC raise money in the form of fines for the Federal Government at the expense of subscribers who actually suffered monumental losses as a result of poor quality service rendered by the operators?” said NATCOMS chairman Deolu Ogunbanjo.

“We agree with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Standards and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as the industry regulator that there was a need to fine the operators for poor service delivery, but the fine should not be used to enrich the Federal Government, it should be shared among the subscribers who have actually paid for services that were either not rendered or haphazardly rendered,” they further explained.

NATCOMS also added that at the end of the day, it is the subscriber who will pay the mobile operators’ fines through hiked prices. “Moreover, it is the subscriber that will still pay the fine directly or indirectly,” Ogunbanjo concluded.

The Nigerian Communications Commission ordered MTN Nigeria and Etisalat Nigeria to pay N360 million fines each, where as Airtel Nigeria would pay N270 million while Globacom, Nigeria’s second national operator (SNO), would pay N180 million.

The deadline for repayment of the fines has been set at 25 May 2012.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor