Telecom
Telcos Make Case for Tariff Hike, Says Current Regime No Longer Sustainable
Stakeholders within the telecommunications sector, particularly Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), have highlighted challenges inhabiting and stunting the growth of the sector in Nigeria, with particular emphasizes on issues of unsustainable tariff regime, fibre optic cable cuts, as well as forex issues/inflationary environments.
L-R: Lead, Business Champions Program, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Temiloluwa Oluokun; Chief Operations Officer, IHS Towers, Kazeem Oladepo; Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Carl Cruz; Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Bismarck Rewane; Anchor, Arise News, Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani; Chief Executive Officer, MainOne, Funke Opeke; and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Olatunji Bello; during the Telecoms Industry 2.0 Townhall event, on Tuesday, 13th August, 2024, at Four Points Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
They disclosed this on Tuesday at the Telecoms Industry 2.0: The Next Investment Frontier in Nigeria, organised by Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, said the country’s telecommunications sector is “in a deep crisis” stressing that the industry is at the brink of losing its viability if nothing is done to review the current tariff regime.
He noted that despite the growth over the past two decades of liberalisation, the sector is now threatened by inflationary environments and unsustainable pricing regime.
Toriola said price increase has become imperative, noting that it is now an “absolute necessity”.
He stated that there is an urgent need to rescue the sector from collapse as it is “in an intensive care unit ICU”.
Highlighting why investors may not continue to invest in the industry, Toriola said that the fundamental goal of any investor is to get efficiency or profitable return on investment which he noted is now abysmally low and is threatening the survival of the industry.
According to him, “No investor is going to put in $1 and receive 60 cents as return on investment,” adding that without deliberate efforts to change the current tariff regime, the flow of new investment into the sector could dry up entirely.
He said the static pricing is no longer sustainable.
“There’s no way under the surface of the earth, in the kind of inflationary environment and forex devaluation that we’ve seen, that an industry can maintain the same prices for 11 years,” he said.
“The telecoms sector has faced escalating costs across boards — from the cost of capital to the soaring expenses of maintaining infrastructure like base stations and diesel generators.
“Without adjustments to pricing, the industry’s ability to function and attract investment is in jeopardy.”
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) speaking at the event re-echoed Toriola’s call for immediate upward review of the current tariff plan in order to save sector from further troubles.
He stressed that the current price regime is no longer sustainable due to the rising operational cost, occasioned by forex devaluation, and soaring expenses of maintaining infrastructure such as base stations and diesel generators.
Adebayo said the rising cost challenge is seriously threatening the survival of telecom businesses in Nigeria.
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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