By Technology Times Reporter

Abuja, Nigeria. August 30, 2007. A recent directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that operators should suspend all promotional activities has claimed its first casualty in second national operator (SNO), Globacom Limited.

In the wake of large-scale drop in quality of service among mobile networks in the country, the regulator had directed the big three of MTN, Globacom and Celtel Nigeria to suspend all promotional activities that will lead to uptake of their phone lines.

NCC spokesman, Dave Imoko announced today that the regulator fined Globacom the sum of N5million for breaching the directive to suspend its promo and improve on quality of service (QoS) on its network.

Also, Globacom will pay half a million naira for each day it defaults “for every day following the expiration of the 14-day period during which the earlier fine ought to have been paid”, says NCC.

According to Imoko, NCC had issued a direction to Globacom on July 6, 2007 stating among others that “Glo should not embark on and also discontinue any promotional activities that could directly or indirectly degrade the Quality of service on its network for a period of ninety days in the first instance”.

According to him, “in spite of the clear terms of the said Direction, Glo on July 23, 2007 published an advertisement on page 66 of ThisDay newspaper and commenced promotional activities which has the effect of directly encouraging subscribers to make more minutes of call and thus further deteriorating the quality of service on its network in contravention of the Direction.”

The regulator says it is deriving its powers from the provision of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, Regulation 15 of the Nigerian Communications (Enforcement Processes, etc) Regulations 2005 and the Direction dated July 6, 2007, which had made it on July 30, 2007 impose the N5m fine the SNO.

Imoko adds that, “despite the expiration of the 14-day period within which Globacom should have paid the fine, it has failed, refused and neglected to pay the fine. Apart from the additional N500,000.00 (five hundred thousand naira) to be paid by Globacom for everyday the fine remains unpaid, the Commission will not attend to any regulatory request made by Globacom during the period. The Commission will not condone any flagrant refusal to comply with its Directions by a licensee.”