Nigerians may soon experience an increase in calls, data plans and SMS charges from early 2025 as there are indications that the Federal government may give a nod to the persistent calls for tariff review.
The tariff was last reviewed 11 years ago while telecom operators have continued to intensify their calls for a new hike.
Recently, the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to allow telecommunications companies (Telecoms) to increase tariffs by a marginal increase of 10 percent, rather than load-shedding, Tribune Online reports.
Meanwhile, telco giants like MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile have consistently called for an increase in tariff rates.
MTN Nigeria’s shutdown threat
In October that Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, the largest telecom operator in the country, during a tour of MTN’s facilities by Fellows of the Media Innovation Programme in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, warned that the company may shut down if tariffs are not reviewed.
Toriola, who oversees about 78 million subscribers, highlighted that the telecommunications sector is facing severe financial strain, especially from escalating diesel prices required to power base transceiver stations. “There should be no delusion; if the tariff doesn’t go up, we will shut down,” he said, underscoring the urgency of tariff adjustments to reflect current economic realities.
Toriola also pointed out that MTN, once one of Nigeria’s top corporate taxpayers, has seen its tax contributions decline due to financial challenges. In the first half of 2024, MTN reported a staggering N519.1 billion loss, largely attributed to foreign exchange losses from the naira’s devaluation and high inflation.
Like MTN Nigeria’s Toriola, the Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, Obafemi Banigbe, recently joined the call for a tariff hike for telecom services.
According to him, the telecom industry has been badly hit by the current naira devaluation, forcing major telecom operators to declare significant losses.
Banigbe disclosed that the costs incurred by the telecom operators have significantly increased, citing towercos, which he said increased their prices by over 300 per cent, “this is an outside hike in diesel cost, insecurity, vandalism, maintenance of sites, infrastructure upgrades, among others.”
He added that the only way for them to survive is a tariff increase, noting that even charges by Customs — a government agency — have increased.
“What they charge us has increased tremendously. We need to act fast to keep the sector going. The industry must get free market opportunities to increase tariffs on services,” the 9mobile CEO said.
