NCC bans all telecoms promos and Lotteries with immediate effect

The Nigerian
Communications Commission (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 practices.
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 practices 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]