… guidelines ready ‘one or two weeks’, Says NCC
The Federal Government has approved a hike in telephone tariff following the request by telecom operators.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, announced the approval in Abuja on Wednesday during a meeting with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) .
The new tariff regime will most likely come into effect from February as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulator of the sector, has indicated that it will take about a week or two for the guidelines to be ready
Telephone tariff was last increased about a decade ago.
Operators’ cry for increase has been strident in the last three years with the executives of some of the leading telcos in recent time personally championing the campaign. For instance, the chief executive of MTN Nigeria Karl Toriola has been particular about 100 per cent increase, saying it is the only way to guarantee the survival of the telcos.
At the meeting on Wednesday, Tijani said the approval being considered by the Federal Government through the NCC had become imperative to stimulate growth and investments in the sector.
The MNOs have been pushing for, at least,100 per cent tariffs hike, but the government said yesterday it won’t approve up to that.
Tijani insisted that the increase would not be 100 per cent as being pushed by the operators.
At the meeting was the NCC Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Dr. Aminu Wada Maida.
According to him, consultations and engagements were on-going on the matter, noting that “very soon, the NCC would approve the new tariffs and make it public to Nigerians.
“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs. They are requesting for a 100 per cent tariff increase.
“But, it will not be by 100 per cent. We are still looking at that study and NCC will 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.
“We need to ensure that as a sector, we get our acts together, ensure that from the regulation side, we put the right regulations in place that can ensure the growth of this sector,” Bosun said.
On developments in the telecom sector, the minister said the Federal Government would no longer leave investments in infrastructure to private 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. I think what the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity.
“You want to have access to very good quality service.
“A part of it is that the consumers may not be aware of the investment that needs to go into the infrastructure that is used to deliver these services.”
On his part, the EVC of the NCC explained that yesterday’s meeting with the critical stakeholders bothered on how to sustain 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.”
