"Not the Right Time": NCC Speaks to Telecom Consumers on Tariff Hike

• The Nigeria Communications Commission has said Nigerians should rest assured as there will be no increase in rate anytime soon
• The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC said there are processes that need to be followed if there will be a hike in price
• He said the loss of subsidies is the reason the commission is yet to implement any hike in rate for now

The elimination of fuel subsidy has not resulted in any plans to raise telecom rates, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman (EVC) of the NCC, gave the assurance while accepting the Titans of Tech (ToT) award in Lagos.

This comes after the NCC reeled out new guidelines for telecommunication companies in Nigeria to improve customers’ experience and relations.

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The telecom regulator said the new guidelines align with Section 57 of the NCC Act, which allows stakeholders to contribute to the policy.

Implementation of increase not now

Danbatta claimed that the loss of subsidies had prevented the NCC from raising telecom rates at this time. He said that it is up to the industry as a whole to make such a decision, according to Independent News.

He said:

That is left for the entire industry to determine. We run a participative system of engagement in NCC. We can’t even talk about increase now. There has to be a lot of engagements with stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that there is a growing number of inactive phone lines on various networks in Nigeria. If this is not addressed, it may be necessary to deactivate up to 100 million of them by the end of the year, a source said.

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Economic hardship forces Nigerians to abandon SIM cards as 100 million phone lines risk deactivation

As of late December, the NCC reported that the number of idle or abandoned lines on the MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile networks increased from 94.4 million to 95.2 million in January and then increased again to 96.7 million in February.

According to the source who conveyed the information, the number may reach 100 million by the end of the year due to ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments regarding energy, food, and spiraling inflation, all of which devalue the value of consumers' disposable per capita income.

NCC warns Nigerians to remove 5 Google chrome extensions on their phone, laptop immediately

In earlier news, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has identified five malicious Google Chrome Extensions.

According to the commission, the extensions surreptitiously track online browser activities and steal users' data.

The five malicious extensions are McAfee Mobile, Netflix Party, Netflix Party 2.

Source: Legit.ng