The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reportedly found Starlink guilty of breaching part of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.
This is due to the company’s decision to increase its subscription rates without regulatory approval.
NigeriaMedia had reported that Starlinks, owned by Elon Musk, announced a near 100% increase in its subscription fee from N38,000 to N75,000.
Also, the company raised the Standard (Residential) plan to N75,000 per month, while regional roaming for mobile was set at N167,000 and global roaming at N717,000.
A part of the Starlink statement, which has been withdrawn, reads:
“As a current customer, your monthly service price will increase in 1 month, beginning 31 October 2024. For new customers, the price increase is effective immediately.”
“If you do not wish to continue your service, you can cancel at any time.”...Read Full Article [Click Here>]
The company attributed the hike to inflationary pressures but reversed the increase following reaction and warnings from the NCC. Punch reports.
Leadership reports that immediately after Starlink’s announcement, NCC issued a statement that was also later withdrawn, stating that no approval was given.
Part of the withdrawn statement reads:
“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.”
BusinessDay reports that NCC has concluded plans to issue a letter detailing the sanctions to Starlink this week.
