The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, yesterday, slammed four major Nigerian telecommunications operators, MTN Nigeria, Etisalat, Airtel and Globacom with a cumulative fine of about One billion, one hundred and seventy million Naira (N1,170,000,000) as penalty for the poor quality of services they rendered to their different subscribers in the months of March and April 2012.
The commission’s Head Media and public relations, Mr Reuben Muoka said that details of the penalties have already been communicated to the different operators. However, details of the penalties made available to Saturday Vanguard, shows that MTN Nigeria and its counterpart, Etisalat Nigeria, will pay Three Hundred and Sixty Million Naira) each.
Meanwhile, Airtel is to pay the sum of two hundred and seventy million Naira, (N270,000,000) while Globacom was also slammed with One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira, (N180,000,000) fine. The commission also directed all the affected operators to pay the penalties on or before May 21, 2012 or risk additional payment of two million, five hundred thousand Naira, (N2,500,000) daily, for as long as the contravention lasted.
The commission said that the penalties became necessary as the operators failed to meet with the minimum standard of quality of service including the key performance indicators, KPIs set for them.
Muoka added that the Commission has in line with the provisions of the regulation, monitored the performance of the operators on the different parameters as provided and the result showed that the service providers are in contravention of the provisions and therefore invoked paragraph 13 & Schedule 3 Paragraph 2 of the Quality of Service Regulation 2012, which provides that any company which contravenes this provision will be liable to pay fine.
The operators are to pay the sum of N15, 000, 000. 00 (fifteen million naira only) each for each parameter for a service contravened in the month of March,2012 and a further sum of N2, 500, 000 (two million five hundred thousand naira only) for each parameter for a service for each day the contravention continued throughout the month of April, 2012.
In the letter communicating the penalties to the different operators, signed by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, and the Head of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Engr. Ubale Maska, the Commission said that “ it had noted the performances in the months of January and February 2012 as being below the specified thresholds, however, for the purpose of enforcement of the new Quality of Service Regulations, the Commission had taken these periods as grace period”.
MTN reacts, explains reasons for poor QoS
Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, MTN, yesterday outlined part of the problems that led to poor quality of service,appealing to NCC to also help in straightening some of them out.
The company’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr Akinwale Goodluck, said that inadequate power supply, lack of adequate security leading to indiscriminate vandalisation of its facilities and multiple regulation and taxation were also responsible for poor services within the time under review.
According to Goodluck, MTN generates up to 80% of its power requirements, expending billions of Naira annually on diesel alone.
He said that “MTN suffers more than seventy cuts to its fibre on a monthly basis. Indeed, in April this year, MTN had cause to publish full page announcements in the newspapers, alerting the public to the growing incidence of criminal damage to MTN’s infrastructure in various parts of the country and the impact on quality of service in the country, particularly the South East, as well as Port Harcourt, and Onitsha, Lagos, Kano and Abuja.
“Moreover, the heightened insecurity in several parts of the country also limited MTN’s ability to carry out routine maintenance and emergency repairs” he added.
Goodluck also recalled several incidents of multiple taxation and over regulation, citing as examples the difficulties encountered by MTN in Abia State last year and last week’s face off between NESREA and NCC over jurisdiction to intervene in specific regulatory issues, leading to the closure of a number of MTN sites in Abuja. In each case, as with numerous such incidents all over the country, MTN’s ability to service its customers has been severely impaired.
He appealed to the NCC to assist the industry to overcome the various challenges that he listed, adding that “no business thrives when its customers complain. It is not in our interest for them to do so. It is our desire that our customers are happy with us or else we do not have a business”.
Source: Vanguard