Say telecoms can’t subsidise other sectors
Telecoms operators have said they are preparing new tariffs to reflect the 50 per cent hike approved by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) .
Although the NCC has said the 50 per cent tariff hike granted the operators on January 20, 2025 should commence this February, the service providers said it would commence the full introduction of the new tariffs in March.
The operators, which addressed journalists, content creators and other stakeholders in Lagos, at the weekend, said the hike was to sustain the sector, stressing that it was not about profitability to them.
This is coming as the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called for massive protest, tomorrow, February 4, to force a downward review of the 50 per cent hike to about five per cent.
But leading the telcos discussion, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the operators would issue their tariffs differently and were currently filing, reviewing and obtaining approvals from the regulator.
“So, we are now following what is called the regulatory requirement, regulatory steps of filing, reviewing and obtaining approvals. As soon as those approvals come through, different players will introduce new rates as the time comes. I’ll say over next week, we start seeing some improvement in the prices,” he stated.
Adebayo stressed that the tariff adjustment was essential for the survival of the telecommunications sector, stressing that the government should not rely on the sector to subsidise others.
“The other side of it is that the sector cannot be the subsidy for other sectors. Our cost should be reflective of the economy. Telecoms can’t be used as palliative.
“So, you can’t say because the costs of garri, pepper and okro have gone up, we now have to subsidise peoples’ living by providing services that are sold at lower than cost. It’s a matter of time before we start seeing the negatives .
“I think it is important that we need to charge rates that are sustainable, and we can’t stand as a subsidy for the problems of people in other sectors, which is not the problem caused by the operators,” he stated.
On investments, the Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, said telecoms operators had never stopped investing; however, he noted that the 50 per cent hike would enable operators to invest more in the service.
Director of Product Innovation and Business Development at 9mobile, Kenechukwu Okonkwo, said issues of tariffs were best left to market forces, stressing that he hoped that things improved greatly in the country to avoid further hike.
Regarding the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt with banks, Adebayo confirmed that progress was being made towards a final resolution.(Guardian)
