Call, Data, and SMS charges in Nigeria will soon be increased by 40% according to the country’s telecommunications carriers.
This decision was made to alleviate the crisis and economic challenges facing the telcos companies under the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
The operators claimed that this was unavoidable due to the growing cost of doing business in the nation, according to a letter from ALTON to the Nigerian Communications Commission, which was published on Wednesday by PUNCH (NCC).
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The Significant Effect of The Increment
An economic slowdown that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the association, had placed financial strain on members of the telecoms sector in the last several years.
According to them, the conflict had resulted in a 35% rise in their operational expenditures, mostly as a consequence of an increase in energy prices.
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Furthermore, ALTON’s letter to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) affirmed that the call charge would rise from N6.4 to N8.95, and the SMS price ceiling will rise from N4 to N5.61.
Nigerian Telcos Response
In lieu of the letter sent, 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.
What is ALTON saying?
According to Gbolahan Awonuga, ALTON’s Head of Operations, the growing cost of operation in the nation, combined with the energy crisis resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian war, is what prompted its members’ need for a 40 percent rise in the cost of data, SMS, and phone calls. This was revealed in an exclusive interview with Nairametrics on Wednesday.
If accepted, ALTON’s appeal to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would result in a 40 percent rise in the cost of phone calls, data, and text messages.