Nigerians might pay more for calls and data as Telecoms Operators are considering raising the prices of their services in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, attributed the planned increase to the rise in the cost of operation.
He said an increase in fuel prices which has affected the service providers’ operations, prompted the decision.
Adebayo explained that the rising cost of operation was a burden on the network providers, and they needed to pass the increase incurred from changes in electricity tariff and fuel price to the cost of their services, which includes airtime and data sales.
According to the ALTON chairman, the telecommunications companies are already in discussion with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to review the prices of their services.
His words:
“All these changes have had impacts on our industry. You know as an industry, these are parameters that affect the cost of the services we offer, I mean our production cost and when production costs go up, end-user prices too go up.
“For the sustainability of the industry, the tariff we charge the consumers will reflect the cost of production, in this case the cost of energy, cost of fuel, cost of diesel, cost of transport.
“So, expectedly, prices are meant to go up,” the chairman said, adding, “What we are doing at the moment is that we are working with the regulator to follow the guideline on tariff review.”
