NCC initiates forensic audit of telecom firms over data depletion, surcharges

*The Nigerian Communications Commission assures of consumer protection in view of the discovery of a mobile network operator that unlawfully surcharged subscribers to the tune of over N100 million, as it extends forensic audit on SMS to other operators

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In line with its mandate to protect consumers of telecommunication products and services, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun probe of data depletion in telecoms industry in the country.

Prof. Garba Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NCC, on the sideline at the presentation of ZIK Prize for Leadership Award, said reduction in the cost of data might not provide the lasting solution to the issue of data depletion in Nigeria, The Nation report said.

The NCC EVC assured consumers and other stakeholders in the country’s telecom ecosystem that the Commission would explore new measures that would address the issue.

Danbatta stated: “NCC has instituted a forensic audit on the cost of data, just like we did with cost of Short Message Service (SMS) on a particular mobile operator.

“We discovered that the operator unlawfully surcharged its subscribers to the tune of over N100 million, and we have asked the particular operator to make refunds immediately and the operator has commenced refund to the affected subscribers.”

According to him, the negative development could have gone unnoticed, if not for the quick intervention of NCC.

We have plans to even extend the forensic audit on SMS to other telecom operators, said the NCC Chief.

He further stated: “So, like we did for SMS, we are doing same for data to find out the reason for fast data depletion and it will be carried out across all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

“By the time the audit is completed and the result is out, perhaps we will have better information of what is happening in the data segment, as it relates to fast data depletion.”

Contrary to widespread insinuations and attendant criticism by several telecom consumers that no reduction of cost of data as the government earlier promised, Danbatta however, disclosed the Commission did its benchmarking recently and discovered that the cost of 1 Gigabyte of data was below N500, representing 50 percent reduction from what it used to be.

While assuring that the Commission is almost there, the Executive Vice-Chairman said the NCC had a target to reduce data cost to N390 per Gigabyte by 2025.

The target, as enshrined in the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), is to achieve N390/Gigabyte in the cost of data by the end of 2025, but the recent benchmarking that the NCC did show that the cost of data has reduced to more than 50 percent from what it used to be at the beginning of 2020, said Danbatta.

He added: “For us as industry regulator, this is a good sign that data cost is coming down and that the issue of data depletion as experienced by subscribers, is gradually being addressed.

“Although the reduction in the cost of data may not completely address the issue of fast data depletion as being experienced by subscribers, the NCC is considering a new measure that will completely address the issue of data depletion.”

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