Ernest Ndukwe, Chairman , NCC
Users of Nigeria’s over 70 million active phone lines will likely begin to enjoy lower tariffs for voice calls and short massage service (SMS) from next week, as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday announced a new, reduced and time-scaled regime of interconnectivity rates for network operators in the country. Some industry experts predict that telephone tariffs could fall by as much as 25 percent. Interconnectivity rates are the stipulated levies which service providers pay to each other for terminating calls on each others networks. After working with consultants and taking input from network operators, the NCC stated that the interconnection rate for mobile (voice) provided by new entrants in Nigeria, irrespective of the originating network shall be N10.12 kobo from December 31, 2009. The rate then regresses to N9.48 kobo from December 31, 2010 and N8.84 kobo from December 31, 2011. The rate then regresses to N8.20 from December 31, 2012. Short message service (SMS) interconnect rates were likewise scaled down and regress from N194 kobo to N1.02 kobo between December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2012. The new assymetrical regime of interconnect rates are pitting the operators against one another on the basis of tier of operation and time of entry. The first tier operators, comprising networks which started with mobile (GSM) services in 2001 tend to be of the opinion that the new interconnect regime favours the second tier and new and yet to roll out operators. A source close to the first tier operators said: “Assymetrical regulation is bad for the industry. What it is translating into is that the regulator is starting to favour a certain class. “On what basis will the NCC say that an operator has not taken off and we should give that operator a soft landing? One of the big three GSM networks started much later than the others and it did not get a soft landing, so what is the justification for this new development?”
