NCC Plans Cheaper Internet Connection, Price Caps On Cable Transmission – FOR market competition and to assure affordable Internet connection everywhere in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is going to set price limits on the cable transmission segment of the country’s $32 billion telecommunications industry following a cautious cost based determination was completed.
Though, NCC statistics put Internet subscribers at 82 million, majorly on the narrow band, majority of Nigerians still have no access to affordable broadband services, coupled with increasing bad services.
The proposed new pricing regime was contained in a study undertaken by KPMG on behalf of NCC. The study was presented in Lagos at a Stakeholders Consultative Forum organised by the commission.
According to NCC, KPMG was contacted two years ago to carry out the study as part of its regulatory oversight function to address competitive dynamics, pricing and related matters in cable transmission pricing among operators.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the move was informed by the commission’s observations of arbitrary and discriminatory pricing inherent in the transmission line market segment.
Juwah, who was represented at the forum by the NCC’s Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management Dr. Okechukwu Itanyi, noted that the commission engaged the services of KPMG to ensure for the execution of the project is guided by reality in the sector.
According to him, the presentation of the findings from the study to stakeholders is to further prove the commission’s participatory regulation to gather opinions and inputs for best pricing regime in the sector’s cable transmissionmarket.
Juwah listed some of the issues raise by operators in the cable service to borderon discriminatory and arbitrary pricing, predatory pricing, denial of access to viable routes among others.
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