Minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy,, Bosun Tijani says telecoms tariff will be increased — but not by 100 percent, adding that the telecommunications sector must establish proper regulations to ensure its growth.
He disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.
In recent times, telecoms sector operators have been mounting pressure on the regulators to raise tariff to curb shrinking investments in the sector..
Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to review call tariffs upwards by the first quarter of 2025.
At the stakeholders’ meeting, the minister assured that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would approve and announce the new tariff after ongoing consultations and engagements.
But it will not be by 100 per cent; the NCC will soon come up with a clear directive on how we will go about it.
“We want to strike the balance as a government, to protect our people, but also protect and ensure that these companies can continue to invest significantly.”
The minister also said the federal government will no longer rely solely on private companies for infrastructure investments in the sector.
Pix: Tijani
“As a country, over time, we have left these investments in the hands of the private sector. They typically invest where they can see returns in the short to medium term,” he said.
“We will not want this conversation to just be about tariff increase. What the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity, people want to have access to quality service.
“A part of it that the consumers may not be aware of is the investment that needs to go into the infrastructure that is used to deliver these services.”
On his part,, the executive vice-chairman of the NCC, Aminu Maida said the meeting focused on the sustainability of the industry.
He added that the NCC has introduced tools to ensure compliance with service quality.
Maida asked the mobile network operators (MNOs) to use simple templates to show Nigerians charges for voice calls, SMS, and data.
We are moving away from the regime where you will have a main rate, then you will now have a bonus which is at a different rate,” Maida said.
“It makes it often complicated and difficult for Nigerians to actually understand what they are being charged for. There is this agitation that the MNOs are stealing our data.”
On his part, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Airtel Nigeria, represented by Femi Adeniran, Airtel’s media spokesperson, said rising operational and capital costs made the tariff adjustments necessary.
He added that the increase was aimed at ensuring the sector’s long-term sustainability while offering significant benefits to Nigerian consumers..
Author: Maureen Ikpeama