The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced pre-enforcement action on Starlink, a satellite internet service provider for outrageously reviewing its subscription packages upwards.
Starlink belongs Mr Elon Musk, the richest man in the world.
He also owns X (formerly known as Twitter).
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Reuben Muoka, spokesman of NCC, said the action started on October 3, two days after the satellite company increased its subscription prices.
“The action of the company is in contravention of Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, and Starlink’s Licence Conditions regarding tariffs
“The Commission commenced pre-enforcement action on the licensee on the 3rd of October, 2024,” the statement read.
Recall that Starlink, last week announced that it had increased the price of its monthly subscription rate for Nigerian users, citing inflation as the reason for the sudden price surge.
From an initial rate of N38,000, subscribers on the standard residential plan will now be charged N75, 000.
Meanwhile, the new price for the Starlink hardware was set at N590,000 from the previous price of N440, 000.
The outrageous increase stirred widespread criticism against the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for approving Starlink’s tariff hike while preventing local internet service providers from doing the same.
Overtime, the NCC has denied calls for a review of the price of voice and data tariff by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON