Telecom
Public Outrage over Vendors’ Recharge Cards Hike
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and MTN Nigeria have washed their hands and refused to be drawn into the festering battle between consumers and retailers of MTN recharge cards who have added between N10 and N20 to the price of top up cards, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.
The vendors had during the last yuletide season increased prices of recharge cards; a development which has attracted public outrage.
Commercial Telephonists, SIMs, and Recharge Cards Retailers Association of Nigeria (COTSARCRAN) said the increment was from MTN.
MTN, has however denied any increment insisting that the face value of all its recharge card denominations remain the same.
Elsewhere, NCC exonerated the regulating body from the confusion, stating that its establishing act does not permit NCC to regulate matters on SIM cards and recharge cards sales.
But the little known COTSARCRAN which was registered only on January this year, said it will only revert to the normal prices when MTN and the dealers have removed the added on their bulk purchases.
Mr. Adie Thomas Akomaye, president of COTSARCRAN, said, “On behalf of the entire members of the COTSARCRAN, I wish to appeal to MTN subscribers and the general public over the N10 increment on MTN recharge cards by MTN Company and its dealers.
Akomaye brandished documents and told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that “I promise that immediately MTN Company and its dealers resolve the issue and return to the initial price of minus N10, my members, the retailers will also return (back) to the minus N10 price with immediate effect”.
MTN on the hand maintained that “We have not effected a price increase and the retail price of the various denominations of our recharge cards and recharge vouchers remain the same”
According to Wale Goodluck, corporate services executive, MTN Nigeria, the recharge vouchers come in the following denominations: N1, 500, N750, N400, N200 and N100 and none of the prices has been reviewed upward.
“Any such hike,” said Goodluck, is ‘contrary to MTN’s wishes or knowledge. MTN has a well-established distribution structure and all our authorized partners within this structure are obliged to sell recharge cards at their face value. Any variance from the authorized face value of recharge cards is without MTN’s knowledge or authority.”
MTN’s 55 million customers can purchase airtime via recharge cards or recharge vouchers as well as through a virtual top up.
The airtime recharge options are generally distributed via a very extensive trade and distribution network which has over the years, successfully enhanced accessibility to airtime and customer convenience.
Goodluck assured customers that the company is currently working assiduously to arrest the situation.
In the meantime, he said, “We urge our esteemed customers in the affected areas to explore other options of purchasing airtime such as MTN Virtual Top Up (VTU)or MTN Auto-Top Up”.
Countering that Akomaye said: “MTN cannot deny it does not know that the dealers added the amounts. Other operators have not increased anything. They started the process around last year November. We were silent by then, because our registration with CAC was on-going. In other words, we sell recharge cards based on the amount we purchased.
“Today, the increment is a national thing. MTN started it when they reduced the number of dealers from 17 to 12. Those who left did not want to play the card according to what MTN presented to them. It is an exorbitant extortion. They should solve the equation with their dealers and revert to the old prices”. He aded.
When asked why some vendors still maintain the old pricing posture, he said, “I have some cards I bought about 3 months ago; so I can afford to sell at the old price. However, anybody buying card now does that under the new prices”.
Speaking on the matter in a telephone interview with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, Tony Ojobo, director of Corporate Communications, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), said that the regulator primes customers’ satisfaction and has initiated, launched and implemented the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme as a window to address such occurrences.
Ojobo, said, “NCC does not have any powers to regulate the amount vendors collect on SIM cards or recharge cards. If we flash back, price of SIM cards were quite high, but NCC’s interventional schemes and customer awareness programmes led to the mega clash in the prices, particularly, the SIM cards.
“Meanwhile, NCC has been proactive; that is why we initiated and successfully implemented the MNP scheme. It is a window of opportunity for any customer that feels shortchanged by one operator to try the other. So, the present issue of an operator increasing the amount of its recharge cards is wholly a business decision; if they actually did,” he said.
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Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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