NCC bans telecommunication operators from lotteries, promotions

Abuja – The Nigerian CommunicationsCommission (NCC) on Monday warned telecommunications operators against running lotteries and promotions.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Tony Ojobo, the Director, Public Affairs of the commission in Abuja.

The ban covered approved promotions and lotteries in which the NCC signed a Memorandum of understanding with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

The statement said the ban would be in place until such a time as might be determined by the commission.

The commission had in recent times been inundated with several complaints from consumers and stakeholders against the various promotions offered by the operators.

It said the commission had evaluated the complaints received against the backdrop of sustaining the integrity of the networks and the general interest of the consumers.

The statement further said that the commission was mindful of one of its statutory responsibilities; to protect and promote the interest of consumers against unfair practises.

It said the promotions had increased the number of minutes available to subscribers for use within a limited period of time, thereby, creating congestion in the networks.

It also said that on-net calls were now being offered by operators at tariffs well below the prevailing inter-connect rates, thereby, introducing anti-competitive practises and behaviour.

It further said the termination of calls was becoming difficult between networks, making it extremely hard for subscribers to make calls successfully.

It listed the Telecom Operators affected by the ban as: GLOBACOM, MTN, INTERCELLULAR,VISAFONE, ETISALAT, AIRTEL and MULTILINKS

The commission said it was determined to ensure that the quality of service offered by the networks were such that delivered value to the consumers. (NAN)