By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Telecommunication Companies (Telcos) operating in Nigeria have called for a tariff review for their services to cushion the impact of rising inflation.
The group under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), in a joint statement, decried the regulatory constraints by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that prevent them from pricing appropriately.
According to them, they are the only industry that has not reviewed its prices despite the rising inflation in the country and other economic realities that warrant such increment.
The statement continued: “For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.
“ATCON and ALTON call upon the government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.”
For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.
They noted that such fixing of prices poses a threat to the industry’s sustainability and erodes investors’ confidence.
Consequently, the group called for regulatory neutrality and independence, saying that this is crucial to ensuring a thriving telecommunications sector.
Signed by the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, and the President of ATCON, Tony Emoekpere, the telcos, while calling for a tariff increase after 11 years, further said: “ALTON and ATCON respectfully reiterate that telecommunications infrastructure development requires
NCC, which regulates prices in the telecom industry had said a cost-based study was being conducted to determine if it would approve price increments for the operators.
