Regulator has increased the price of incoming international calls by 525%

folarin okunola

October 17, 2016 4:30 PM

The NCC made the price review public through a brief notice which it released last week.

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, NCC CEO/EVC

The

According to the brief notice, “The Nigerian Communications Commission, on September 16, 2016, reviewed the termination rate for international inbound traffic from ₦3.90/min to ₦24.40/min. The interim rate will subsist pending the conclusion of the study of the Determination of Cost Based Pricing for Mobile Voice Termination Rates.”

ALSO READ: Agency says Nigeria’s internet users stand at 94m in August

That excerpt shows a 525% increase in the amount charged for ITR - something that can be traced to a report from the Commission's Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis department. That report had been released in 2015.

“Since international termination rate has no impact on the domestic subscribers, it would be in the interest of the economy to allow international traffic termination rate to be settled through negotiation and commercial agreement between the domestic service providers and international traffic carriers,” the report further reads.

Basically, the report is saying that since an ITR price increase doesn't affect the local consumer, telcos, and the government can generate more revenue to fund investment, innovation, expand domestic networks, and improve the quality of service.

folarin okunola