Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, July 02, 2004.
MTN to resume per second billing this month
By Emma Okonji
IT. Telecom Reporter, Lagos
Pre-paid subscribers of MTN Nigeria would, with
effect from July 10, start enjoying the services of per second billing on their
network.
MTN’s intention to restart per second billing
was made known in Lagos at the 10th edition of the telecom consumer parliament,
organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry
watchdog.
Announcing this, the out-going Chief Executive of
MTN, Mr. Adrian Wood, said the company has increased the network capacity of
per second billing platform to 50, 000 per week, in order to accommodate all
interested subscribers. With the signing of 50, 000 subscribers per week on the
MTN network, the company is sure of accommodating its over two million
subscribers on per second billing platform before the end of the year, Wood
said.
According to him, MTN would, in August, begin per
second billing for all Booster Card customers, explaining that the mobile company has begun per
second billing for its contract package customers. Wood called on all contract
package customers to visit any of its friendship centres and get converted from
per minute platform to per second billing platform.
The willingness to resume its per second billing is
as a result of pressure from NCC and MTN subscribers.
NCC Executive Vice- Chairman, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, had
in the nineth edition of the
consumer parliament, given MTN ultimatum to ensure that it resumes its
suspended per second billing system before the next parliament sitting in
June.
The firm had, in December last year, introduced its
per second billing platform, but suspended it after two weeks of operation.
Giving reasons for the suspension, its Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer,
Mr. Afam Edozie, said the company
had to suspend it based on congestion on its network.
He said barely two weeks of commencement of its per second
billing, the company signed on over one million subscribers, a situation that
led to network congestion.
