A Nigerian consumer rights group is reportedly demanding that the country's big four GSM mobile networks offer N602 billion ($3.6 billion) worth of airtime credit for poor services.
According to a report, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (Natcoms) has made the demand and petitioned the networks' trade association and the telecoms regulator. The organisation is demanding that the networks offer N5 000 to each subscriber as a way of compensating them for poor quality of service.
With nearly 120 million subscribers, the compensation claim could reportedly reach $3.6 billion for the industry.
It is interesting to see the consumer groups gaining power, particularly in markets such as Nigeria, says Ovum analyst Richard Hurst. "I think what one may see [happening] will be a compromise and it is likely that the mobile network operators would look to gaining the higher moral ground on the issue and come out as being champions of the consumer. In this instance, I would think that a greater degree of co-operation between the consumer body and the operators would be required."
IDC analyst Spiwe Chireka says the move is justified as pressure from the Nigerian regulator has not yet been able to spur networks into offering services of sufficient quality.
"Will they succeed? Highly unlikely," says Chireka. "I am not sure if the regulator has the power to force mobile operators to compensate for bad service by giving consumers free airtime. I think [the regulator] is only able to impose monetary fines [on the mobile operators]."
Not in SA
Hurst says it is unlikely consumer groups in SA will move towards such a bold step. "We would see some sort of concession in terms of pricing come from the operators in SA before a rebate."
Earlier this month, the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) latest round of quality of service reports for Vodacom, MTN and Cell C showed MTN and Cell C missed the mark on some of the aspects that were reviewed, focusing on Pretoria and Johannesburg.
For retainability key performance indicators (KPIs) - expressed as average drop call rate - MTN and Cell C missed the target in Johannesburg, while all three operators met the target in Pretoria. In terms of accessibility KPIs - expressed as average call set-up success rate - all network operators met the target in Johannesburg, while only Cell C fell short in Pretoria.
In March, ICASA also said it had received numerous consumer complaints about the state of SA's mobile networks.
Chireka says South African consumers are not yet desperate enough for better quality of service from network operators to take matters into their own hands. "Our quality of service is not great, but it is also not extremely bad. In comparison [to other African countries], we have the best connectivity on the continent."
"Should Natcoms hypothetically succeed, Kenya, Ghana and even Zambia are likely to follow suit as there is lots of pressure in those countries for better quality of service. But in SA, we are not yet at that stage."
While the mobile quality reports released by ICASA showed an effort to resolve SA's lingering connectivity problems, the regulator conceded it does not have the capacity to institute punitive measures and said an agreed measurement methodology has yet to be finalised.
"In all fairness, I think that ICASA is improving its position in terms of the quality of service issue," says Hurst. "The regulator has taken the steps to monitor quality but now the next step will be to flex its limited regulatory muscle and start imposing regulations that will see an improvement in quality of service, etc."
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