The policy which has already commenced on September 1, 2022, indicates that telecommunication companies in Nigeria will begin to earn more from calls terminating on their network from outside the country.
This new payment rate comes barely eight months after the NCC pegged the amount at $0.045 in January 2022.
The NCC also confirmed that due to the expected naira devaluation, the new payment rate will be paid in dollars to prevent financial loss on the part of the Mobile Network Operator, MNO.
A report by the NCC put the total incoming international calls to the mobile networks at 1.1 trillion (1,153,834,485,182.74) minutes.
Then, the revenue accrued to Nigerian telecom operators was undervalued as the ITR was paid in Naira.
This had necessitated the decision by the NCC, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to issue a circular to commercial backs so telecom operators can have a dedicated account to ease dollar remittance in respect of international calls
While explaining the rational behind the price increment, the NCC, in an amended ITR document released on Tuesday, noted the floor price earlier set at $0.045 had given the MNOs room to negotiate on commercial terms with carriers.
This further gave room for indiscriminate pricing as the MNOs took advantage of this latitude to favor their related international carrier partners to the detriment of the Nigerian transit/Indirect Access (IDA) operators.