TARIFFS paid by telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria may go down by about 50 per cent from January 1, next year.

This is as a result of new interconnect rates released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday in Abuja. They take effect from December 31, 2009.

The earlier rates issued by the commission in September 2006, stood at N11.55 across board. On the basis of this, operators charged about N30 per minute.

But with the new rates pegged at N8.20, especially for matured operators whose networks have grown and expanded to many areas, subscribers on these networks are likely to pay about N15 per minute.

NCC's Head, Media Public Relations, Mr. Reuben Muoka, confirmed the development last night saying: "The latest determination applied the Asymmetric Interconnect rate method whereby, new mobile operators enjoy higher termination rates than the older operators as a result of the study that showed that such operators expend higher cost of termination in their networks."

Muoka said unlike in the past where interconnect rates for fixed and mobile networks were different, the new rates are uniform across board because of the unified access licences that were unfolded in 2007. Many operators now offer mobiles irrespective of the technology - Global System of Mobile communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

With this development, call terminations on new entrants' networks are graduated from N10.12 from December 31, 2009 to N8.20 in 2012 while call terminations on older operator's networks is fixed at N8.20 over the same period.

Another major feature of the new rates is the determination of Interconnect Rates for Short Messaging Services (SMS), for the first time in the country.

The SMS interconnection rates also featured a glide path whereby the new entrants enjoy interconnection rates starting from N1.94 from December 31, 2009 to N1.02 in 2012. The other (older) mobile operators will stay on a fixed N1.02 bar over the same period.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=231209&ptitle=Telecom%20tariffs%20may%20drop%20by%2050%20per%20cent

good news!!!

This is far better than good news. Its wonderfull.

This is welcome development, We expect the price to go down even more.

If they can maintain the standard its ok.

lets hope its being implemented. cos once those ncc guys are being bribed them go change mouth like chameleon!, anyway its gud news.

If it works out,
they ll shout to high heavens that this is one of the
achievement ati good works of the yaradua administration.

TARIFFS paid by telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria[b] may go down by about 50 per[/b] cent from January 1, next year.

May hmm

The NCC should tell them to pass on this tariff changes to the end user instead of just announcing lower tariffs to the operators. if they are not pushed to do so they will just claim it as savings on operating cost or something then blame electricity and vandalism!

@Dis Guy
U spoke my mind.
In addition, GSM operators r criminals. Interconnect rates across board is about N11 nd they r presently charging about N30, nw NCC has reduced it to about N8, is there really goin' 2b a significant drop in their tariffs.
@least, this cannot b said of CDMA operators.

Nobody is saying anything about packet data rates n d stupid data limits n restrictions.

dragnet:

Nobody is saying anything about packet data rates n d silly data limits n restrictions.

i second that. may data rates drop o! and llimits removed AMEN! data na their new cash cow robbing we blind

as for me am sticking to dis popular saying: seeing is believing

^ True ! I'll stick wit U on dat line.

Lets wait and see. No need rolling out the drums yet in celebration.

~Enters thread to sow seeds of pessimism~

Nice,cant wait.

Nice,cant wait.

You guys 4get the fact that in NIGERIA here, anythin' goes,

Let wait and see, methinks the network providers will always find ways of extending the dateline further away from the proposed date

Let hope it works,
Nigeria is full of surprises

all their data bundle tariff should be affordable by all(majority) phone users.

globacom has started warming up wit d N18 per minute talk more package

nice, we're improving . . .

GOOD, news

If they r forced 2 do dis while paying millions 4 electricity, it can only present another season of massive sack. Ceteris peribus, c u all next (WEEK!) year.

Good news! Hope it works.

Yes, maybe my girl would atleast be able to say more than hello, I just called to say hi

@DIS GUY, thanks for your good comment. @nairalanders let's not put that in mine because i bet you all this telecomms company can bribe the all staff of NCC. besides this is nigeria we know like the back of our hands.

Let wait and see.

Long over due. Time to reap the reward of our patience. I bet the operators are already planning to circumvent the process.

Good News, just pray it works out