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Tag: NCC

  • Active telecommunication subscribers over 172m in December — NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission says there were 172,871,094 active subscribers on the telecommunication networks in December 2018, as against 169,104,830 recorded in November 2018.

    The telecommunications regulator disclosed this in its Monthly Subscriber/Operator Data made available on its website on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the active subscribers increased by 3,766,264.

    According to the data, 172,485,805 of the 172,871,094 active numbers subscribe to the Global System for Mobile Communications network services.

    The GSM operators’ active customers’ figure increased by 3,756,800 in December, after the 168,729,005 subscribers recorded in November.

    The reports stated that out of the GSM operators, MTN had 67,133,009 users in December, showing an increase of 158,017 from the 66,974,992 it recorded in November.

    Globacom’s figure increased in December by 1,982,109, with 45,255,297 customers, as against 43,273,188 in November.

    Airtel had 44,180,484 subscribers in the month under review, which showed an increase of 1,061,330 users, from the 43,119,154 it recorded in November.

    9mobile recorded 15,917,015 customers in December, having an increase of 555,344 subscribers, against 15,361,671 in November 2018.

    The Code Division Multiple Access operators recorded 124,092 subscribers in the month under review, indicating a decrease of 723, from 124,815 users in November.

    Visafone which is one of the two surviving CDMA operators had 119,632 customers, showing a decrease of 723 from the 120,355 recorded in November.

    On the other hand, Multi-Links had 4,460 in the month under review, same with the record of November.

    The monthly subscriber/operator data showed that the Fixed Wireless network (landline) consumers remained at 26,865 in December.

    One of the two landline networks, Visafone had 26,437 subscribers, while Multi-Links maintained its record of 428 customers in the month under review.

    It also revealed that the Fixed Wired operators (landline) subscriber base increased by 4,795 coming up to 113,626 users in December, as against 108,831 recorded in November.

    In the Fixed Wired arena, MTN Fixed moved from 5,499 users in November to 5,450 users in December, thereby decreasing by 49 customers.

    Glo Fixed had 2,879 users in December, increasing by 74 customers from the November record of 2,805.

    IpNX network moved from 2,357 subscriber base in November to 2,281 in December, hence, its customers decreased by 76.

    It said that 21st Century Network had 103,016 customers in December, recording an increase of 4,846 users from its November record of 98,170 subscribers.

    The report also showed that the two Voice Over Internet Protocol networks had 120,706 active users in December, as their customers increased by 5,392, from their November subscriber base of 115,314.

    Of the VOIP networks, Smile Communication had 113,201 customers, giving an increase of 5,835 users to its November result of 107,366.

    Ntel had 7,505 consumers subscribing to its products and services in December, showing a decrease of 443 users to the November record of 7,948.

    The regulatory body said that Section 89, Subsection 3(c) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 mandated it to monitor and report the state of the telecommunications industry.

    “The commission is mandated to provide statistical analyses and identify industry trends with regard to: services, tariffs, operators, technology, subscribers, issues of competition and dominance.

    “This is with a view to identifying areas where regulatory intervention will be needed.

    “The commission regularly conducts studies, surveys and produces reports on the telecommunications industry.

    “Therefore, telecommunications operators are obligated, under the terms of their licenses, to provide NCC with such data on a regular basis for analytical review and publishing,” NCC said.

  • How Nigeria attained 31% broadband penetration target – NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has confirmed that, based on empirical indices, Nigeria attained 31 per cent broadband penetration.

    NCC management said in a statement on Sunday that this was contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the country was far away from the 30 per cent target.

    NCC said that by the five-year National Broadband Plan (NBP), 2013-2018, it was targeted that the country should be able to attain a minimum of 30 per cent from the five per cent it had in 2013.

    It said that expectedly, based on the population of Nigeria, estimate at 190 million, and connected lines of 169 million, those who had access to broadband at a speed of 1.5 megabytes per second cover over 30 per cent of the population.

    NCC said that to realise that, the Federal Government set up the NBP (2013-2018) with a target of 30 per cent by 2018, of which the figures doubled between 21 and 22 per cent in the months before November 2018.

    According to NCC, broadband penetration is typically measured by the percentage of total population with access to broadband networks out of each hundred.

    “According to NCC data, there were a total of 168,729,005 mobile GSM mobile subscribers in Nigeria as at November 2018.

    “Of these 108,457,051 were subscribed to internet access services provided by the major operators.

    “In terms of broadband services, a total of 58,965,478 connected to the internet through 3G and 4G networks (including those provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) only service providers such as Smile and nTel).

    “This distinction is critical because Nigerians predominantly rely on mobile networks to access the internet, including broadband networks.

    The commission said was made possible since the fixed broadband access which was to have been led by the erstwhile State incumbent – NITEL –” is now literally non-existing.”

    “So, if we take the total active broadband subscription figure of 58,965,478 and divide by the population figure of 190,886,311 (using the UN’s projection as at December 2017), we come to a penetration percentage of 30.9 per cent.”

    The regulatory body said that it used the UN’s figure because of consistency, adding that it appeared to be the baseline used by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in earlier studies.

    “For instance, if we use the Nigerian Population Commission’s 2006 figure of 140 million, we come to a broadband penetration rate of 42.1 per cent.

    “Also, looking through the ITU Broadband Commission September 2018 Report, one would see that Nigeria’s broadband penetration rate is set at an abysmal 19.9 per cent.

    “This cannot be the case, since that report is based on industry statistics of December 2017, which was clearly outdated as at September 2018 when the report was published.

    “Clearly therefore, the NCC assertion that Nigeria has attained 30.9 per cent broadband penetration is logical and supported by available data in the commission’s custody.

    “There are lessons to be learnt from the needless controversy on this matter. To its credit, NCC has been rather transparent with industry data.”

    It said that NCC website was being updated on a monthly basis with data of the subscription, tariff and other industry performance which enabled stakeholders to see a fair picture of overall industry performance.

    NCC urged players in the industry to regularly access the NCC website for available data and insights on industry performance.

    According to it, this is better rather than take to incorrect and pessimistic positions such as expressed by some stakeholders without taking time to know the true position of things.

    It said that NCC would need to engage with ITU to update its 2018 Broadband report, adding that ITU report relied on data from December 2017, now outdated.

    “It is important that NCC provides updated data to the Broadband Commission.”

    It said this was necessary so that more accurate publication of Nigeria’s broadband status could be made, on which stakeholders could rely on for investment and other decisions.

    “In spite of perceived drawbacks, the telecommunications sector remains one of the most consistent enablers of the economy and the economic wellbeing of the citizenry.

    According to NCC the sector contributes over 10.43 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2018.

    “It is boosting employment, both directly and indirectly and providing a robust infrastructure backbone to facilitate high level efficiency in all areas of the economy.

    “Based on World Bank index, increasing broadband by just 10 per cent in developing countries would deliver at least, 1.38 per cent GDP increase per capita.”

    NCC said that a 10 per cent increase in internet penetration would lead to about 1.12 per cent increase in GDP per capita”.

     

  • TNG year in review: How Nigeria achieved 2013-2018 broadband target

    Nigeria, with the aim to drive internet and broadband penetration in the country, developed a five-year strategy, known as the Federal Government National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, through a presidential committee on broadband.

    To drive internet and broadband penetration in the country, the Federal Government National Broadband Plan 2013-2018 aimed to scale up Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) broadband growth by 30 per cent in 2018.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the country in 2018 achieved the five-year strategy broadband penetration target, with broadband penetration standing at 30.9 per cent in November, surpassing the 30 per cent target set by the presidential committee.

    As at September 2017, the country’s broadband penetration was empirically adjudged by global telecom regulator, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as 21 per cent.

    Going forward into 2018, there were concerns in different quarters that the nation might not be able to achieve the target; however, fast forward to November and it is a different story.

    READ | Why Nigeria may not achieve 30% broadband penetration in 2018

    Mr Adeola Ogunbanjo, National President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) said NCC’s licensing of more infrastructure companies (InfraCos) was instrumental in achieving the 30 per cent broadband penetration target.

    The InfraCos licenced by the NCC are Raeanna Nigeria Ltd for South South, O’odua Infraco Resources Ltd for South West (excluding Lagos), Fleek Networks Ltd for North West, Brinks Integrated Solutions for North East, Main One Ltd for Lagos zone and Zinox Technologies Ltd for Southeast.

    According to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, while announcing the broadband penetration achievement in a recent interaction with newsmen in Abuja, the commission knew it has to meet the broadband implementation plan.

    “At NCC, we knew we have to meet the broadband implementation plan to get to 30 per cent at the end of 2018 due to the work done, we now stand at 30.9 per cent equivalent of 31 per cent.

    “NCC had issued license to seven infrastructure companies to deploy the needed infrastructure to facilitate the required penetration in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.

    “This will enable penetration reach the served and underserved areas in the country,” Danbatta, ably represented by Mr Sunday Dare, NCC Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management said.

    He said all information and progress on mobile, internet and data usage penetration would be sustained to provide the necessary requirements for increased investments and effective regulation of the telecom sector in Nigeria.

     

  • Year in review: How telecom subscribers browsed the Internet in 2018

    The Internet is a globally connected network system that uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as one of the main Internet protocol suite.

    The TCP originates in the initial network implementation and complements the
    Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP to transmit data via various types of media.

    Internet usage is the amount of data (in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes) transferred between computer and the Internet in a given period of time.

    Data is transferred in two ways: from the Internet network to a computer (download) or from a computer to the Internet (upload).

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in its monthly Subscriber Data enumerates how
    Nigerians browsed the Internet in the year 2018.

    Taking a look at the data in the year under review, there is an impressive increase in the way consumers
    browsed the Internet to boost economic activities.

    A breakdown of the data shows that in the first half of the year under review (January to June 2018), many subscribers used the Internet to search for information that concern them or are interested in.

    It shows that in January, 100,234,283 subscribers browsed the Internet, while in February, Internet users rose to 100,904,668, recording an increase of 670.385 subscribers.

    The data shows that the number of users were 100,596,228 in March, as against 100,904,668 in February, a decrease of 308,440.

    The data indicates that in April, Internet users increased by 613,275 bringing the number to 101,209,503 as against 100,596,228 recorded in March.

    The NCC said that the number of subscribers who browsed the Internet in May stood at 103,152,726, while in April, it recorded 101,209,503, an increase of 1,943,223.

    It noted that in June, the number of subscribers who used the Internet decreased by 347,604 from the 103,152,726 recorded in May to stand at 102,805,152.

    Internet Subscribers Data in the second half of 2018 from July to November on the NCC website also shows tremendous growth in subscribers as the number of people browsing the internet increased marginally.

    The data indicated that the number of Internet users in July was 103,671,778, compared with 104,628,342 recorded in
    August, an increase of 956,564.

    The data also showed that Internet users increased to 105,980,062 in September from the 104,628,342 in August,
    showing an increase of 1,351,720.

    The data revealed that Internet users for October also increased to 107,106,975, compared with 105,980,062 in September, recording an increase of 1, 126,913.

    The data also showed that overall Internet users increased to 108,457.051 in November from the 107,106,975 it recorded in October, showing an increase of 1,350,076 new subscribers during the month.

     

  • Breaking: Former NCC Director, Tony Ojobo becomes President of African ICT Foundation

    Breaking: Former NCC Director, Tony Ojobo becomes President of African ICT Foundation

    Former Public Affairs Director of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Tony Ojobo has been appointed into the Board of Trustee (BoT) of the African ICT Foundation as President.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) exclusively gathered the former NCC Director of Public Affairs was appointed President of the foundation alongside Dr. Ing Pierre-François Kamanou, who will serve as first Vice President/Francophone Regional Director and Country Director Cameroon of the foundation.

    According to the African ICT Foundation, Mr. Ojobo’s appointment as President was in line with existing template of appointment introduced by the founders of the foundation in 2009 following nomination by watchers of the ICT/Telecoms industry in Nigeria.

    Also to serve in the BoT alongside the former NCC Director, who also is Chairman Kulturekode Hub, are Ms. Rachel Orumor as 2nd Vice President/Country Director, Republic of Benin, and Senator Iyere Ihenyen as Secretary-General.

    Other appointed members of the BoT are Dr. Kevin Nwanze, Professor Effiong Johnson, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, Dr. Anthony Nwosu, Mr. Oludare Omoniyi Akinbo and Adebunmi Adeola Akimbo.

    TNG reports upon convening the first meeting of the BoT, Mr. Ojobo and the new leadership of the African ICT Foundation would elect other officials that will be responsible for the running of the foundation through the secretariat with the full support of its staff.

    In his letter of acceptance, Mr. Ojobo expressed excitement, saying “it is with a sense of humility that I accept this appointment, knowing that there abound an array of more knowledgeable and experienced professionals in this field”.

    “I feel humbled that I have been considered worthy of this responsibility. A portfolio such as this no doubt comes with a great deal of responsibility”.

    He stated that in the age when ICTs are major indices of economic developments, the continent of Africa cannot afford to be sleeping.

    “It’s high time we woke up to the reality facing us at this time. The advancement of the continent vis a vis the economic development lies with the ICT capabilities of her people.

    “With the level of disruptive innovations facing businesses today, there is need to assist businesses and governments with policies that can deliver the desired economic emancipation of Africa.

    “With the support of members of the board, we shall do our level best to add our voice to issues pertaining to ICT development in Africa,” he said.

    TNG reports inauguration of the BoT will hold February 2019 in earnest, subject to the approval of the BoT

     

  • Internet users in Nigeria hit 108.5m in Nov. — NCC

    Internet users in Nigeria increased marginally to 108.5 million in
    November, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

    The NCC made this known on Friday in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for December posted on its website.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Globacom gained more internet subscribers during the month under review, while 9mobile remained on the same figure as in October.

    The data also showed that overall internet users increased to 108,457.051 October from the 107,106,975 in August,
    showing an increase of 1,350,076 new subscribers.

    The breakdown revealed that MTN gained more with 707,023 new internet users in November, increasing its
    subscription to 41,678,804 as against October.

    It said that Airtel gained 438,560 new users, increasing its subscription in November to 28,958,253 compared
    to 28,519,693 in October.

    Globacom gained 204,493 new internet users, increasing its subscription in October to 27,761,281 from 27, 556,788
    recorded in October.

    It further showed that 9mobile recorded 10,058,713 internet users in October, same as in November.

     

  • Active subscribers increase to 169m in Nov. – NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says there are 169,104,830 active subscribers on the telecommunications networks in November, as against 165,239,443 recorded in October 2018.

    The telecommunications regulator made this known in its Monthly Subscriber/Operator Data made available on its website on Friday.

    Active subscribers increased by 3.86 million in November, after the 165 million subscribers recorded in October.

    According to the data, 168,729,005 of the 169,104,830 active numbers subscribed to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network services.

    The GSM operators active customers increased by 3,865,588 in November, after the 164,865,417 subscribers recorded in October.

    The report stated that out of the GSM operators, MTN had 66,974,992 users in November, showing an increase of 1,323,282 from the 65,651,710 it recorded in October.

    Globacom’s figure increased in November by 1,691,133 with 43,273,188 customers, as against 41,582,055 in October.

    Airtel had 43,119,154 subscribers in the month under review, which showed an increase of 849,173 users, from the 42,269,981 recorded in October.

    9mobile recorded 15,361,691 customers in November, which was same in October 2018.

    The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators recorded 124,815 subscribers in the month under review, indicating a decrease of 1,217, from 126,032 users in October.

    Visafone which is one of the two surviving CDMA operators had 120,355 customers, showing a decrease of 1,217 from the 121,572 recorded in October.

    On the other hand, Multi-Links had 4,460 in the month under review, same with the record of October.

    The monthly subscriber/operator data showed that the Fixed Wireless network (landline) consumers remained at 26,865 in November.

    One of the two landline networks, Visafone had 26,437 subscribers, while Multi-Links maintained its record of 428 customers in the month under review.

    The report indicated that the Fixed Wired operators (landline) subscriber base decreased by 166, coming down to 108,831 users in November, as against 108,997 recorded in October.

    In the Fixed Wired arena, MTN Fixed moved from 5,422 users in October to 5,499 users in November, thereby increasing by 77 users.

    Glo Fixed had 2,805 users in November, reducing by 401 customers from the October record of 3,206.

    IpNX network moved from 2,404 subscriber base in October to 2,357 in November, hence, its customers decreased by 47.

    It said that 21st Century Network had 98,170 customers in November, recording an increase of 205 users from its October record of 97,965 subscribers.

    The report also showed that the two Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) networks had 115,314 active users in November, as their customers increased by 3,182, from their October subscriber base of 112,132.

    Of the VOIP networks, Smile Communication had 107,366 customers, giving an increase of 3,106 users to its October result of 104,260.

    Ntel had 7,948 consumers subscribing to its products and services in November, showing an increase of 76 users to the October record of 7,872.

    The regulatory body said that Section 89, Subsection 3(c) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 mandated it to monitor and report the state of the telecommunications industry.

    “The commission is mandated to provide statistical analyses and identify industry trends with regard to: services, tariffs, operators, technology, subscribers, issues of competition and dominance.

    “This is with a view to identifying areas where regulatory intervention will be needed.

    “The commission regularly conducts studies, surveys and produces reports on the telecommunications industry.

    “Therefore, telecommunications operators are obligated, under the terms of their licenses, to provide NCC with such data on a regular basis for analytical review and publishing,” NCC said.

     

  • NCC warns telecoms operators on compliance

    Mr Ismail Adedigba, Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has charged telecommunications operators to comply with the commission’s directives.

    Adedigba gave the charge on Thursday during the 45th Consumer Town Hall Meeting (CTM) in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

    He said the commission gave directives to the operators due to numerous complaints from telecommunications consumers.

    According to him, the commission has been inundated with various complaints such as unsolicited text messages and calls.

    Adedigba said the commission had equally received complaints on failure/refusal to roll over unused data at the expiration of data bundle by service providers.

    He said there were complaints of automatic renewal of data services upon expiration and activation/subscription to data and Value Added Services (VAS) without prior consent of the subscribers.

    He said there were also complaints of call masking and refiling.

    The deputy director noted that the commission, as a consumer-centric institution, had taken appropriate steps in response to the above major complaints.

    “The regulatory body has developed the 2442 Do Not Disturb (DND) Short Code to solve unsolicited text messages/calls.

    “It has taken a step on the issuance of direction to service providers on data rollover, which now enables consumers to roll over unused data for a period of time, ranging from one day to seven days, depending on your data plan. This took effect from June 26, 2018.

    “NCC has issued directives to service providers on forceful subscription of data services and Value Added Services (VAS), for them to desist from forceful/automatic renewal of data services, without prior consent of subscribers. This has taken effect from May 21, 2018.

    “The commission also developed 622 Toll-Free Line through which you can easily lodge complaints for any unresolved service issue to the NCC,” he said.

    Adedigba said that failure of the operators to comply with the above directives would attract appropriate penalties and sanctions.

    In respect to call masking and refiling, he said the commission was working seriously to abate the ugly development, including deployment of appropriate technology as a strategy to combat it.

    He said NCC believed the consumer is the “King” and as such, must be accorded the basic rights which include the right to be heard, to be educated, to choose, seek redress as well as right to safety.

    The Chairman, Board of NCC, Sen. Olabiyi Durojaiye, said that the programme was to enable a tripartite meeting of the regulator, operators and consumers.

    Represented by Mr Bashir Idris, Deputy Director/Head, Government and Public Relations Unit, NCC, Durojaiye said the meeting was aimed at enlightening telecommunications consumers and resolving pressing issues with respect to provision of services.

    He said it would also serve as a feedback mechanism for the commission in making regulatory interventions for the benefit of the consumers, service providers, and the industry as a whole.

     

  • NCC restates commitment to telecom consumer protection

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has once again re-emphasized its unflinching commitment to the protection of telecom consumers from unwholesome practices by service providers.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the commission made the commitment at the 45th edition of the consumer town hall meeting in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State on Thursday, following report that the commission may soon decommission some value-added service (VAS) platforms and services over illegal deductions.

    While delivering the opening remark at the town hall meeting, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, Chairman, NCC Governing Board, represented by Bashir A. Idris, Head, Government and Legislative Relations, Public Affairs Department stated that the theme, “Using Information and Education As Tools For Consumer Empowerment And Protection” has been carefully chosen

    He said the theme reflect one of the cardinal objectives of the NCC of ensuring consumer empowerment through provision of necessary information and education to consumers.

    “Through empowerment and education, telecom consumers are fortified with necessary tools to be protected from market exploitation; and to make rational and informed decision when making choices of services,” he said.

    NCC’s Deputy Director Consumer Affairs Bureau, Alhaji Ismail Adedigba, during his welcome address declared that NCC, “as a Telecom Regulatory Agency is poised to empower telecom consumers with adequate information and education through constant engagement of consumers at various levels across the country.

    Adedigba stressed that “the programme is to enable a tripartite meeting of the Regulators, Operators and Consumers with a view to enlightening telecom consumers and resolve pressing consumer issues with respect to provision of telecom services”.

    He further stated that, “it is through empowerment and education that telecom consumers are fortified with necessary tools to be protected from market exploitation; and to make rational and informed decisions when making choice of services as information is power”.

    Hafsat Lawal, Deputy Director Consumer Affairs Bureau emphasized some of the initiatives put in place by NCC for telecom consumer empowerment such as NCC’S Toll Free Number- 622 and, Do not Disturb – 2442 Code.

    She also urged consumers to report cases of call masking to the commission.

     

  • NCC may decommission some VAS platforms, services over illegal deductions

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in the overall interests of mobile telecommunications subscribers, may suspend or outrightly decommission some value-added service (VAS) platforms and services.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the commission made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, following the uncovering of large volume of forceful and illegal deductions by network providers by the regulator.

    The statement reads: “As a consumer-centric regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission has noted with great displeasure the unacceptably high level of consumer complaints in respect of forceful subscriptions to Value-Added Services (VAS), as well as airtime deductions for these subscriptions.

    “The Commission mandated several initiatives to tackle the menace. These include the institution of a comprehensive investigation and resolution process, the Do-not-Disturb (DND) facility, and the imposition of sanctions for breach.

    “Disturbed by the persistent occurrence of the menace despite these measures, the Commission carried out a long and comprehensive investigative audit into VAS subscriptions across all MNO and VAS platforms.

    “The investigative audit was led by the Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement Department of the Commission, with participation from its other Departments such as the Technical Standards and Network Integrity (TSNI), Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB), Legal & Regulatory Services (LRS), and Licensing & Authorisation (L&A).

    “The Audit Team analyzed subscribers’ Call Detail Records from MNOs and subscription logs from VAS providers over a period of two years, leading to the conclusion that a huge percentage of VAS services were not voluntarily subscribed for.

    “The audit team also found that some providers had implemented disingenuous mechanisms by which large numbers of innocent consumers were “forcefully” subscribed to VAS platforms, leading to regular deduction of their airtime without their consent.

    “As all Stakeholders are aware, the Commission has persistently insisted that actions of this sort are unacceptable as they are in direct breach of the Nigerian Communications Act and NCC’s many regulatory instruments on the matter. Such actions also undermine the very foundations of the customer/service provider relationship, that is, transparency and trust.

    “Based on the outcome of the investigative audit, the Commission will shortly be directing the indicted organisations to make refunds to affected consumers as appropriate. The Commission is also considering, and will impose appropriate sanctions as necessary. This outcome justifies the Commission’s commitment to evidence-based interventions.

    “We wish to use this opportunity to inform the general public that the Commission may suspend or outrightly decommission some VAS platforms and services in the overall interests of consumers. We assure consumers that these measures will be implemented with minimal inconvenience to them, and trust that we can count on the understanding of consumers who may be affected by these measures.

    “The Commission assures all Stakeholders that we will continue to use all available resources to protect the rights of consumers of telecoms services and to ensure that they get appropriate value for their interactions with service and platform providers”.

    Although the NCC did not mention the amount of money deducted from subscribers through the forceful subscription, sources say the amount was more than N36bn over a period of two years.