Subscribers on Airtel and Etisalat Nigeria network on Sunday commended the telecommunications companies for their reduced call tariffs.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, the customers also lauded the extra megabytes added to the data bundle without additional charge.
The President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, described it as a welcome development, adding that there was still the need for more development.
Ogunbanjo said: “This is a good development but there should be room for more drop in prices.”
Ogunbanjo said the recent move by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Ministry of Communication to adopt a Communication Service Vat of 7 per cent was not welcomed at all.
He said: “This plan must not be at all.
“It must be discouraged.
“In fact, the bill must be withdrawn.
“This should be so because many people cannot afford data and this will be going against the present relief experienced by subscribers on the drop in call and data tariff.”
As a way forward, Ogunbanjo called for more base stations so that the quality of service would improve.
He added that they should reduce the prices further so that subscribers could have access to data and by so doing would be empowered.
Maureen Nwadike, a businesswoman, said: “Airtel call tariff is good.
“I am being charged N7 per minute to any network in Nigeria, which I can say is very fair.
“But the network should improve on the charges for international call.
“It is still high.”
Chizota Nwanyanwu told NAN that the data bundles from the networks were moderate.
Nwanyanwu said extra megabytes had been added to the different data bundles without increasing the amount being paid.
He said: “It used to be N1,000 for 1gigabyte, but now it is N1,000 for 1.5GB.
“The network added extra 500Megabytes.
“The data plan that the network is offering for N1,000 is okay, but I will suggest that they should improve on the speed of the internet.”
NAN reports that the data bundles offered by Airtel include 30MB for N100, valid for 24 hours; 50MB for N200, valid for two days; 80MB for N300, which is for seven days.
Others are 500MB for N500, valid for 14 days; 1.5GB for N1,000 valid for 30 days; 3.5GB for N2,000, valid for 30 days; 5GB for N2,500, valid for 30 days; 4.5GB for N3,500, valid for 30 days; and 9GB for N3,500, valid for 30 days.
An Official of Airtel Nigeria, who pleaded anonymity, said it was market forces that determined how tariff was being offered.
The official said: “Nobody will give you his business strategy.
“Business strategy is not for public consumption.
“It is the retailers that determine what happens in the market.”
Similarly, an Etisalat subscriber and a banker, Edith Ofodile, said the bonuses added to data recharge was good, but wondered why the slow network when the data was about to expire.
Ofodile said: “This is a good development.
“The problem I normally experience is when the data wants to expire, the network is always slow.
“The company should try and make the network stable and also revert to sending alerts when the data wants to finish.”
Another Etisalat subscriber and a journalist, Patricia Oleka, said the development was a step in the right direction.
Oleka said: “To me, the bonuses received in call and data tariff is okay.
“The only challenge is that when the network has problem internally, it can wipe one’s credit without replacing it.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Manager of Etisalat, Chineze Amanfo, declined to comment.
#--NAN.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, the customers also lauded the extra megabytes added to the data bundle without additional charge.
The President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, described it as a welcome development, adding that there was still the need for more development.
Ogunbanjo said: “This is a good development but there should be room for more drop in prices.”
Ogunbanjo said the recent move by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Ministry of Communication to adopt a Communication Service Vat of 7 per cent was not welcomed at all.
He said: “This plan must not be at all.
“It must be discouraged.
“In fact, the bill must be withdrawn.
“This should be so because many people cannot afford data and this will be going against the present relief experienced by subscribers on the drop in call and data tariff.”
As a way forward, Ogunbanjo called for more base stations so that the quality of service would improve.
He added that they should reduce the prices further so that subscribers could have access to data and by so doing would be empowered.
Maureen Nwadike, a businesswoman, said: “Airtel call tariff is good.
“I am being charged N7 per minute to any network in Nigeria, which I can say is very fair.
“But the network should improve on the charges for international call.
“It is still high.”
Chizota Nwanyanwu told NAN that the data bundles from the networks were moderate.
Nwanyanwu said extra megabytes had been added to the different data bundles without increasing the amount being paid.
He said: “It used to be N1,000 for 1gigabyte, but now it is N1,000 for 1.5GB.
“The network added extra 500Megabytes.
“The data plan that the network is offering for N1,000 is okay, but I will suggest that they should improve on the speed of the internet.”
NAN reports that the data bundles offered by Airtel include 30MB for N100, valid for 24 hours; 50MB for N200, valid for two days; 80MB for N300, which is for seven days.
Others are 500MB for N500, valid for 14 days; 1.5GB for N1,000 valid for 30 days; 3.5GB for N2,000, valid for 30 days; 5GB for N2,500, valid for 30 days; 4.5GB for N3,500, valid for 30 days; and 9GB for N3,500, valid for 30 days.
An Official of Airtel Nigeria, who pleaded anonymity, said it was market forces that determined how tariff was being offered.
The official said: “Nobody will give you his business strategy.
“Business strategy is not for public consumption.
“It is the retailers that determine what happens in the market.”
Similarly, an Etisalat subscriber and a banker, Edith Ofodile, said the bonuses added to data recharge was good, but wondered why the slow network when the data was about to expire.
Ofodile said: “This is a good development.
“The problem I normally experience is when the data wants to expire, the network is always slow.
“The company should try and make the network stable and also revert to sending alerts when the data wants to finish.”
Another Etisalat subscriber and a journalist, Patricia Oleka, said the development was a step in the right direction.
Oleka said: “To me, the bonuses received in call and data tariff is okay.
“The only challenge is that when the network has problem internally, it can wipe one’s credit without replacing it.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Manager of Etisalat, Chineze Amanfo, declined to comment.
#--NAN.
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