Frequently Asked Questions

Policy Competition & Economic Analysis

  1. Telecom services especially data prices are too high. What is the Commission doing to bring down the prices of data?

    The Commission does not regulate prices but puts in place policies that regulates the industry and ensures prices charged by operators are cost based, competitive and in line with international best practice.

  2. What does Fair Usage Policy (FUP) mean and how does it affect data services?

    FUP is a policy utilized internationally by broadband providers of all types of mobile and fixed internet to ensure that every subscriber uses data in moderation. It is to ensure fair and equitable distribution of access to as many subscribers on the particular network.

  3. Why can I not get End of Usage Notification for data services just as I get for voice services?

    The directive on End of Data Notification has been concluded and is at a review stage. Consumers would be notified of data consumed per day as well as their data balances.

  4. How can I verify that I am being charged the right price for data services by my service provider?

    Presently, the only way to verify what each service provider is charging is by checking the data balance before and after usage, and comparing the difference representing the data consumed with the product’s business rules as stated in the product offering. The Commission is soon to issue directives on End-of-Use notifications to be indicated by service providers after each use.

  5. Why do some operators deny access to unlimited plans when they have reached their fair usage policies and why is subscribed data depleted quickly before the validity period?

    Based on the FUP, operators are only allowed to throttle down speed but not to deny access. In a situation when this happens, Subscribers are expected to report to their respective provider’s customer Care Personnel. Where this is not resolved, subscribers can then escalate the issue to the Commission.

    Unlimited data plans usually have fair usage policies which means that the subscriber has unlimited access within the duration of the plan but not unlimited data. When the subscriber consumes the given data allowance, the speed throttles down while the consumer can still enjoy data service on the network.

  6. Why are bonus plans considered to be more expensive compared to non-bonus plan?

    Bonuses are traditionally free add-ons to products on offer and tend to deplete faster than non-bonus plans. This can only be explained by the fact that it’s a bonus i.e. an additional gift in a way.

  7. Why is subscribed data depleted quickly before the validity period?

    The depletion of data is according to the subscriber’s usage.

  8. Can subscribers be reimbursed for any unauthorized data depletion?

    Yes, provided the complaint is made first to the operator. If this is not resolved, it is escalated to the Commission and compensation is adequately made as soon as the claim is confirmed to be true

  9. Can unused data be rolled over?

    Yes, unused data should be rolled over if the subscriber renews his data within the stipulated time. There is a direction issued by the Commission to this effect.

  10. What is the price floor for voice?

    N6.40

  11. What is the price floor for Data?

    None

  12. What is the current International Termination rate?

    The Commission put in place an interim rate of N24.40. A cost study is currently being carried out by the Commission.

  13. What is the time frame allowed for the processing of tariff request?

    45 working days as stipulated in the guidelines for processing tariff.

  14. Who is eligible to apply for Tariff approval?

    All licensees of the Commission

  15. What is the price floor and cap for SMS

    The price floor for SMS is N1.02 and N4.00 respectively.

  16. Does NCC Regulate Fintechs?

    NCC does not regulate Fintechs in Nigeria. Fintechs are regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  17. What role does NCC play in the Nigerian Financial Inclusion Strategy?

    NCC’s role is an enabler providing the infrastructure upon which the Fintech/ Mobile Money Operators and other solution providers ride on to extend services to end users

  18. Who issues License to Mobile Money Operators, Super Agents & Payment Service Bank (PSB)

    CBN issues License to Mobile Money Operators, Super Agents & PSBs.

  19. Does NCC charge Mobile Money Operators for short code allocation?

    NCC does not charge Mobile Money Operators for issuance of short code. However, there is plan to start charging soon.

  20. Can NCC Licensees apply for CBN license?

    NCC licensees can apply for CBN Money Mobile/Super Agents/Payment Service Bank license only after creating a Special Purpose Vehicle for the said business.

  21. What is Broadband Penetration?

    Broadband penetration is defined as the total number of subscriptions to 3G & 4G divided by the population of the country. It measures the extent of access to broadband communications within the population of a particular Country.

    The ratio is multiplied by 100 to represent broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants. The estimated Nigerian population is 190,886,311

  22. What does Fixed telephone subscriptions mean?

    Fixed-telephone subscriptions refers to the sum of active number of fixed telephone lines, Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) subscriptions, Fixed Wireless Local Loop (WLL) subscriptions, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) voice channel equivalents and fixed public payphones.

  23. What is Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions?

    Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions refer to the number of active subscriptions to a public mobile-telephone service that provide access to the PSTN using mobile cellular technology

  24. What is Teledensity?

    Telephone density, or tele-density, is the number of telephone connections calculated at the ratio of one line to 100 of population as prescribed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international body that prescribes standards for telecommunication services.

  25. What is a Leased Line?

    A leased line is a dedicated fixed-bandwidth used for symmetric data or voice services.

  26. What is LTE?

    LTE simply means Long Term Evolution. It is a standard for 4G wireless broadband technology that offers increased network capacity and speed to mobile device users. LTE offers higher peak data transfer rates -- up to 100 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream. It also provides reduced latency, scalable bandwidth capacity and backward-compatibility with existing GSM and UMTS technology.

  27. What are Fixed Telephone Lines?

    A fixed telephone line is an active line connecting the subscriber's terminal equipment to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) using copper, fiber or wireless local loop.

  28. How can Competition in the Nigerian Telecoms Industry affect Consumers Behaviour?

    Competition brings about market efficiency which leads to lower prices, increase in number of services and improved quality of service provided to consumers which in turn increases consumer choices. This means that when the telecoms market is fairly competitive consumers have power to select best service provider and service that suits their needs

  29. What is Anti-competitive behaviour and how does it affect Consumer Choices?

    Anti-competitive behaviour is any action conducted by one or more service providers to make it difficult for any other service provider to compete fairly. This behaviour include actions that can hinder effective competition which may lead to lower or higher prices, reduce quality of service or discourage innovation. Anticompetitive behaviour limits consumers’ choice there by preventing them from getting a fair deal.

  30. What is the Nigerian Communications Commission doing to check anticompetitive behaviors?

    The Commission has in place a Competition Practices Regulations (2007) which provides rules for promotion of competition in the telecoms industry, protection against misuse of market power and anti-competitive practices. The Commission makes determination whether a Service Provider or more are in a dominant position or have significant market power; and impose dominance obligations on them to prevent them from misusing their market power or exploiting the consumers. The Commission also fines and sanctions Service Providers who violate the Competition Practices Regulations 2007.

  31. What does it mean, when a Service Provider has a dominant position or significant market power?

    A Service Provider is assumed to be in a dominant position when it has highest or significant proportion of market share, revenue, output, sales and capacity. In addition, one or more Service Providers can jointly or collectively be in a dominant position.

  32. What does Abuse of Dominant Position mean and how can it affect Telecoms Consumers?

    A Service Provider can abuse it dominant position when it uses its market strength or advantage to prevent fair competition within the industry. Also, when a dominant Service Provider engages in anti-competitive behavior such as offering services at a lower price, compelling a consumer to use only its service thereby preventing another competing Service Provider from providing similar service, it is said that Service Provider is abusing its dominant position.