Elon Musk’s internet startup, Starlink, has been threatened with sanctions by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for raising its subscription fees in Nigeria without the regulator’s consent. Stakeholders accused the telecom regulator of using a double standard by permitting the price increase but prohibiting local cellular companies from raising their rates.
The NCC did not sanction Starlink’s pricing increase, according to Dr. Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs at the Commission, in answer to this publication’s question on the subject.
He claimed that Starlink had violated the licence requirements concerning prices as well as Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003. NCC finds this surprising.
In response, Muoka stated that the telecom regulator was taken aback by Starlink’s price increase as well. He disclosed: “The decision by Starlink to unilaterally review their subscription packages upwards did not receive the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission. We were surprised that the company jumped the gun by announcing price changes after filing a request to the Commission seeking approval for price adjustment for which the Commission was yet to communicate a decision.
“The action of the company appears to be a contravention of Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and Starlink’s License Conditions regarding tariffs.
“The Commission will, therefore, take appropriate enforcement measures against any action by a licensee that is capable of eroding the regulatory stability of the telecommunications industry,” he added.
Starlink last week upped the monthly fee for its internet service in Nigeria by 97% from N38,000 to N75,000, BrandSpur telecom and IT news reports.
The company also raised the Starlink hardware kits for new customers by 34%, from N440,000 to N590,000, as recently reported by BrandSpur telecom and IT news. In a communication to its clientele in Nigeria, the business explained the rise as the result of “excessive inflation.”
In the meantime, telecom operators in the nation have been pleading for a price review under the auspices of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). They claim that despite the nation’s rising inflation rate and other economic realities that call for price increases, the telecom sector is the only one that has not revised its rates.
The operators have called for creative ways to combat inflationary pressures and high operating expenses, but the NCC and even Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, have rejected their requests.
However, the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA), Section 108, grants the NCC the power to control telecom rates. According to the Act, an NCC licensee is not permitted to charge for services until the NCC has approved the tariff rates and fees.
According to the Act: “Holders of individual licences shall not impose any tariff or charges for the provision of any service until the Commission has approved such tariff rates and charges except as otherwise provided in this Part.”
Section 111 of the Act further states the Commission shall prescribe and enforce appropriate financial penalties upon any holder of an individual license who exceeds the tariff rates legally approved by the NCC for the provision of any of its services, irrespective of any other provision of the law.
