Subscribers union wants NCC to ban promos by GSM companies

Subscribers prefer better services than promotions.

The President, National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, NATCOMS, Deolu Ogunbanjo, on Thursday urged the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to ban the ongoing sales promotions in the sector.

Mr. Ogunbanjo said in Lagos that the promotions were congesting networks of the service providers and that this has caused deterioration in the already poor services of the operators.

According to the association official, subscribers prefer better services than promotions which benefit few consumers.

“So, we want the NCC to still put a ban on promos so that the operators can face their network quality challenges for now. If we notice improvement in quality of service, then they can then bring in promos. We are saying that they should give us good quality service, not promos,” Mr. Ogunbanjo said.

Globacom, had in July, launched a N500 million promo designed to reward its subscribers for their support and loyalty to the network. With the theme, Glo-Recharge to Stardom, the promo offered customers the opportunity to celebrate with the telecom company and win various prizes.

The prizes ranged from N10, 000 airtime to a grand prize of N25 million during the promo period of 100 days.

In August, Airtel Nigeria introduced its own promo, tagged, Airtel Step Up, through which subscribers would win a total of N150 million in 90 days.

The ongoing Airtel promo is anchored on a point-based interactive SMS system where customers will accumulate points to increase their chances of winning by responding to questions.