MTN, Airtel, others justify planned 40% hike in call, data tariffs

Telecom providers in Nigeria under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has justified their decision to increase data and call tariffs by 40 percent.

According to them, the rising cost of operation in the country prompted its request for an increment in the cost of services offered by its members.

This was made known by the Head of Operations, ALTON, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, on Wednesday.

The umbrella body of the telecom operators had in a letter to Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), urged the telecoms regulator to undertake a review of the telecoms service tariff to reflect the present economic reality just as it was recently done in the power sector.

The request if granted, will lead to about a 40% increase in the cost of calls, data, and SMS.

The telcos said: “Given the state of the economy and the circa 40% increase in the cost of doing business, we wish to request for an interim administrative review of the mobile (voice) termination rate for voice; administrative data floor price, and cost of SMS as reflected in extant instruments.

“With respect to voice an SMS cost, ALTON respectfully requests the commission to consider a mark-up approach to address the upward price adjustment desirable for the industry. We have enclosed herein and marked as ‘Annexure 1’our proposal in that regard.

“For data services, we wish to request that the commission implements the recommendations in the August 2020 KPMG report on the determination of cost-based pricing for wholesale and retail broadband service in Nigeria. Excerpts from the report, are attached and marked ‘Annexure 2’ to provide a further illustration,” it added