TheNewsGuru

Tag: Data Subscription

  • BREAKING: Airtel quietly hikes price of data subscription

    BREAKING: Airtel quietly hikes price of data subscription

    Airtel Nigeria has quietly hiked the price of data subscription for its N5,000 monthly data bundle.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) observed the hike on Sunday, following threats by Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to hike voice and data tariffs.

    The N5,000 monthly data subscription bundle that used to be 20 GIG is now 18 GIG, ie. 2 GIG short. However, Airtel stated it only modified the data bundle.

    “Hello @oyiboediri, we empathize. Kindly be informed that the data bundle has been modified. Please note that N5,000 activation is now 18GB  + 2GB YouTube Night  + 200MB Youtube Music / Spotify 30 Days. Thank you,” stated in response to an inquiry by TNG.

    BREAKING: Airtel quietly hikes price of data subscription

    Recall ALTON had during a recent visit to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, sought approval for a price review mechanism in the telecom sector.

    The association blamed the increased cost of doing business and harsh economic realities for the price hike proposal.

    According to ALTON chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, other sectors of Nigeria’s economy, including insurance and power, have implemented different degrees of tariff increment in the last six years but there has been no increase in the telecoms sector.

    “Consumer prices in other sectors have seen a steep rise over the last six years as they adjust to reflect macroeconomic realities.

    “However, telco prices have remained flat and even declined. Contrary to the price trends in other sectors, telcos have had to adjust for the macroeconomic headwinds caused by an increasing erosion of margins.

    “Other highly regulated sectors, such as power and insurance, have implemented price increases over the last year. Insurance prices have risen 200 per cent with power raising prices by over 40 per cent,” he stated.

    In his response, the Communications Minister said he would look into all that ALTON had tabled, stressing that the challenges are not insurmountable.

    TNG reports Airtel, the Minister of Communications and the Nigerian Communications Commission did not immediately respond to calls for clarification on the hike.

  • Unused data: Respite comes for subscribers as NCC restates position on data rollover

    Unused data: Respite comes for subscribers as NCC restates position on data rollover

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has met with Senior Executives of telecommunication companies and reemphasized that subscribers’ unused data must be rolled over to subsequent data subscription.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports NCC during the meeting held recently with the top execs of the telecom companies said this is the solution to the perennial issues bothering on unused data rollover.

    At the meeting, which focused on consumer relations and complaint management processes, the NCC restated that its directives of June 2018 to service providers to commence implementation of data rollover from 26 June 2018 remain in force.

    According to a statement by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, NCC Public Affairs, the Commission and the telecom service providers agreed that the compensation policy should be revisited and complied with at all times.

    “This is to ensure full compliance with the new Complaint Categories and Service Level Agreement (CC/SLA) consented to by the NCC and the service providers in the telecommunication ecosystem.

    “Additionally, it was decided that the Commission and telecom service providers will hold follow-up discussions on “Fair Usage Policy” on unlimited data bundles/data rollover, in order to provide a clearer explanation and better understanding of the processes and procedures of the policy for the benefit of the consumers.

    “In other words, a subscriber’s unused data must be rolled over to his/her subsequent data subscription. Therefore, the Commission urges service providers to continue to inform and educate subscribers on the procedures and processes for data rollover,” the statement reads.

    During the meeting, service providers also agreed to ensure that senior-level customer relations officers support their respective complaints management teams to resolve complaints that were not resolved to the satisfaction of the consumers when such complaints were first reported.

    The service providers also promised to ensure that complaints are resolved in both the letter and spirit of the recently-reviewed Service Level Agreement (SLA).

    With respect to services subscribed to through third parties (such as banks), which are not rendered, the meeting resolved that telecom service providers should explore initiating service level agreement with banks to ensure uniformity and speed in the resolution of complaints relating to billing.

    All parties to the meeting equally agreed that telecom service providers will carry out pervasive consumer education and enlightenment campaigns about their products and services to ensure their subscribers have the information they require to make informed decisions and get value for money spent.

    TNG reports the meeting of NCC with the Senior Executives of telecommunication companies is a bi-annual meeting, which has held regularly since 2018, focusing on ensuring improvement in Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) in the telecom industry.

    It has served as a veritable platform for the Commission and service providers to discuss and agree on measures that will enhance prompt and effective consumer complaint resolution in telecom service provision in Nigeria.