The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced new rates for Closed User Group (CUG) call and data services, to take effect from November 1, 2023.
Under the new tariff structure, major telecom companies in the country, including MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile will charge a uniform rate of N50 per minute for CUG services
NCC has set a fixed rate of N50 per minute for CUG voice calls, additionally the body has decided to limit CUG services to voice calls and text messages excluding data bundles. This decision aims to simplify CUG offerings and ensure fair pricing.
Speaking on the decision, Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, said: “CUG rental/access fee must not be bundled with data, VAS, or other ancillary services. “This directive effectively limits CUG plans to provide voice calls and text messages.”
In addition to the N50-minute call rate, NCC has fixed the cost of text messages within CUG at N4 per SMS. Subscribers can choose between postpaid CUG services, with a minimum monthly access fee of N400 and a maximum fee of N500.
NCC has established specific pricing to maintain fairness in CUG services. Calls and text within a CUG (on-net) must not fall below No.50 per minute for voice services and N1.02 for text messages. For calls outside the CUG (off-net), the minimum price is N6.40 per minute for voice calls and n1.02 for text messages.
The NCC has also streamlined CUG services, limiting them to six subscriber categories. These categories include large corporate organizations (with a limit of 30,000 phone lines), government agencies (20,000), not-for-profit organizations (10,000), duly registered residential estate associations (2,000), and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) (200).
According to the regulatory body, to be eligible for CUG services, organisations must provide business registration documents, tax identification numbers, a signed contract agreement with the telecom provider and proof of identification of CUG members such as a National Identification Number.