Lagos and Abuja — Nigerians may have begun the journey towards enjoying low tariffs from GSM providers,which many thought was a far cry going by the earlier disposition of the providers and their regulators. This is sequel to a fierce price war that is currently raging among the GSM operators.

The tariff battle, which is being fought by the four major GSM operators in the country, has as its target GSM subscribers whose patronage the warring service providers seek to attract.

The battle was started by Etisalat Nigeria with its 25k per second and N15 per minute on all calls. This was taken over by other operators including Airtel, Glo and MTN Nigeria which last Friday unveiled what could be described as the mother of all tariffs cut. However, the M-TEL is nowhere to be found in this battle as it is still waiting for a buyer to revive it.

As part of its strategy to woo customers after rebranding, Airtel came out with a package that enables its customers to pay 20k per minute after an initial 60k in the first minute for the whole day. The rate, which is not limited to its network but extends to every network, also includes calls to the US. The 20k per second translates to about N12 per minute as against about N30-N60 per minute hitherto prevailing in the system. “Call any network and US at 20k/sec.,” an SMS from the network proudly announces.

Apparently sensing that Airtel was going to steal the show, MTN came up with its package that slashed prices considerably. The three “pocket friendly packages”, according to company, are: MTN Magic Number, MTN Talk-On and MTN Family and Friends.

Announcing the new rates officially, MTN Chief executive officer Ahmed Farroukh told journalists in Lagos: “This change is one that every customer can experience in a tangible way.” He said “every customer can enjoy the unbeatable value of the MTN Magic Number for 30 whole days and nights.” For long distance callers, Farroukh explained that “MTN Talk-On ensures that both your conversation and purse strings remain unbroken. This is because it offers the lowest call rate in the market and incredible 25k per second for the rest of the day.”

He further said that with MTN Family and Friends, a customer can make calls at 20k per sec. only to six registered numbers including one international number and one from another network. All these, he said, are in addition to the free midnight calls.

“It is an offer of true value. It means instant connection to your loved ones and call rates that are first of its kind, never done before in the history of telecommunications in Nigeria,” the MTN boss boasted. He added that there are neither hidden charges nor access fees.

He said that since 2001 the GSM operator had been committed to offering true value, the kind that enriches their customers’ life in tangible ways; the kind that continued to inspire them to set the pace in Nigerian telecom sector.

“Today, it also includes revolutionary tariff plans – revolutionary because they will significantly enrich your treasured relationships and change the face of Nigerian telecommunications once again,” he said.

Just recently, Etisalat again unveiled a repackaged and reloaded Easy Cliq into the telecom market. According to the GSM operator, the package is specifically designed to cater for the needs and lifestyle of the youth segment of the market.

The new Easy Cliq is loaded with new features: The Cliq for the week and Cliq for the day offer subscribers unbeatable experience and benefits daily. While Cliq for the week offers 15 MB of free data for subscribers when they recharge N200 or more weekly, Cliq for the day offers discounted call rates of 25k per second to other Easy Cliq subscribers at a daily access fee of N5.

Glo Network is not left out in the price war. The network talks of 35 hours of free talk every week. “Spend as little as N500 per week and enjoy 35 hours of free calls the following week,” it tells its customers. The Mike Adenuga-owned GSM service provider had since unveiled five packages for its subscribers.

According the Glo’s website, the GSM service provider has the following packages: More Classic, More Prime, More Business and More Power.

The network also charges N8 per SMS for both on-net and off-net as well as free 20 SMS within network. Apart from the tariff reduction, Glo customers will get bonus airtime for up to 20 per cent of their recharge. Bonus recharge of N500 attracts 10 per cent; N1000 and N2000 attract 15 per cent each while any Glo customer who recharges up to N5000 will get 20 bonus airtime.

In all, free all-night call which was like the exclusive preserve of MTN customers, is now being enjoyed by customers of other networks. All the packages being introduced by different operators are meant to attract more customers and retain the existing ones.

Reacting to the development, the head of public affairs, at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Reuben Mouka, said it was a welcome development. According to him, the tariff reduction war among the GSM operators was the outcome of the recent interconnect rate done by the Commission, which he stated brought more competition in the industry.