NCC bans promos, lotteries by Telcos

A news report just slipped in that the telecom industry regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has banned all forms of sales promotions by telecom operators. The action is reportedly aimed at salvaging the sliding quality of service in the sector.

CommunicationsWeek quotes Tony Ojobo, Director of Public Affairs as saying that the ban covers all proposed and approved promotions and lotteries on which the NCC has given approval further to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

Affected in this latest ban from further promotional sales campaigns are Globacom, MTN, Intercellular, Visafone, Etisalat, Airtel and Multilinks.

The question now is: What happens to the various levies that the operators have paid to relevant government agencies to enable them carry out the various promotions? Will they get refunds from all the government agencies that had collected money from the operators before giving them approval to run such promo/lotteries?

QoS: Regulator to check promos in telecom sector

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has admitted that natural and man-made disasters have taken their toll on the quality of service obtainable in the country’s telecom sector lately.

She said the situation has also not been helped by a rash of promotions being carried out by the major telecom operators, MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat.

According to her the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will be taking steps in the days ahead to check the promotions with a view to improving service delivery.

Johnson who spoke in Abuja on Sunday when she fielded questions at an organised forum said because of the growth of the sector, operators had been facing demand challenge.