NCC releases fresh guideline for Unutilised, Unclaimed subscriber airtime

• There are millions of mobile lines getting deactivated regular aft much than six months of zero activity
• The question of what happens to their unused airtime has lingered, but NCC has present issued caller guidelines to telecom operators
• MTN, Airtel, and different operators person 90 days to instrumentality the guidelines and bring the customers connected board

Legit.ng writer Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has implicit a decennary of acquisition successful concern reporting crossed integer and mainstream media.

In the tone of creating and fostering a transparent and consumer-centric situation for telecommunication players successful Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced engagement with stakeholders to finalise a caller acceptable of guidelines.

These guidelines volition absorption connected regulating unused and unclaimed subscriber airtime and deciding however agelong customers person to utilize their recharge.

Speaking astatine the Stakeholders Engagement Forum successful Abuja, the NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Dr. Aminu Maida, noted that this was an important contented for some subscribers and the telecom operators, and a equilibrium indispensable beryllium reached to safeguard user rights, portion ensuring industry sustainability.

The NCC stands arsenic the manufacture regulator, ensuring that customers interests are protected adjacent arsenic the operators thrust for profitability. Photo credit: NCC
Source: UGC

He said that the forum would determine what to bash with unused airtime aft the enactment becomes inactive, without jeopardising user interest.

Use it oregon suffer it?

Maida explained that prepaid plans springiness Nigerian subscribers the flexibility and affordability to entree mobile services.

He besides pointed retired that the Quality-of-Service Business Rules 2024 let subscribers 1 twelvemonth aft deactivation to reclaim unused credit, lone connected the information that they can supply grounds of ownership.

Maida pointed out;

“However, the broader statement remains—should operators beryllium required to refund unused airtime, oregon should the rule of “use it oregon suffer it” prevail? Our extremity is to get astatine a model that protects consumers portion ensuring the continued ratio and competitiveness of the industry.”

NCC issues Draft guidance, gives operators 90 days

The NCC Head Legal and Regulatory Services, Mrs Chizua Whyte, described the forum arsenic a important engagement needed to assistance the committee fulfil its mandate of creating the close regulatory situation for telecommunication services successful Nigeria.

She said the Quality of Service Regulation allows operators to deactivate oregon churn the enactment aft agelong play of inactivity, but did not intelligibly authorities what would hap to unused credits which galore subscribers permission behind, the PUNCH reports.

Whyte noted that the Draft guidance contains clear, fair, and transparent provisions to negociate unused credits successful the involvement of the subscribers and operators.

The caller guidelines provides that the unused recharges cannot beryllium monetised. Photo credit: Shutterstock/Weetracker
Source: UGC

Key provisions successful the draught include;

1. There is simply a 12-month model for subscribers to assertion unutilized recharges aft their enactment has been churned (deactivated oregon recycled), provided they beryllium ownership.
2. Telecom operators indispensable behaviour a broad audit of each churned numbers and their unused recharges and taxable the aforesaid to the NCC.
3. Unused oregon unclaimed recharges cannot beryllium monetized. They must, however, beryllium made disposable to the affected subscribers successful dependable offerings, information plans, and different value-added services.

NCC has besides fixed the telecom operators a 90-day window to guarantee afloat compliance, pass and decently amended the consumers connected the caller guidelines.

NCC addresses fast-data depletion allegations against MTN, Airtel

In related news, the NCC has refuted allegations of wide speedy information depletion connected mobile networks successful Nigeria.

The clarification followed claims by subscribers that telecom operators had diminished the worth of data packages offered to customers.

The committee stated that an audit conducted successful the 3rd 4th of 2024 recovered nary grounds to enactment these allegations.

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Source: Legit.ng