Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that Nigerians should brace up for telecom tariffs hike soon as federal government has concluded the tariff review and will soon approve it to the telecom providers. Tijani revealed that consultations and engagements are ongoing rising from a stakeholders’ meeting with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and almost concluded.
Contrary to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the MNOs are proposing a 100 per cent increase in tariffs, the Minister disclosed that the tariff is less than that.
According to the minister, very soon the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will make the new tariffs public to Nigerians.
Recall vigil360 report that revealed the NCC has approved 40% increase in both the call and data prices for the telecom companies.
“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs. They are requesting for 100 per cent tariff increase.
“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,” he said.
According to the minister, there was a need for NCC to get its house in order by ensuring the telecommunication sector get its acts together through the right regulations that will support the growth of this sector.
Tijani said that the Federal Government would no longer leave investments on infrastructure to the private sector companies alone.
“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.”
“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,” he said.
The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC), of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the meeting with stakeholders was about the sustainability of the industry.
“We have looked at all of these factors, and that is why, like the minister said, it is not likely that we are going to approve 100 per cent tariff increase.
“I know that Nigerians are agitated to hear the exact percentage approved. There is still some stakeholder engagements that we are going through, but you will hear from us within a week or two,” he said.
He noted that the NCC had put some number of tools and instruments in place to ensure compliance to service quality.
He called on the MNOs to make available simplified templates with detail of how the tariff charged applied to Nigerians per minute for voice calls, SMS and a megabyte of data.
“We are moving away from the regime where you will have a main rate, and then you will now have a bonus which is at a different rate.
“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,” he said.
Buttressing the minister’s position, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, represented by Femi Adeniran, Airtel media spokesperson, reiterated that the economic realities of rising operational and capital costs necessitated the proposed tariff adjustments.
Balsingh said for the telecoms companies to deliver an excellent service and foster digital inclusion, there is need for tariff increment.
“The economic realities of rising operational and capital costs, necessitated the proposed tariff adjustments
“This is aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sector, while unlocking significant benefits for Nigerian consumers,” he said. (NAN)
