Licensed telecommunications in Nigeria have written the Nigerian Communications Commission, proposing a 40 percent increase in the cost of calls, SMS and data, the Punch reports.
Their proposal letter titled, ‘Impact of the Economic and Security Issues on the Telecommunications Sector’ and written under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria is attributed to the rising cost of running a business in the country.
Based on the proposal, calls will increase from N6.4 to N8.95 while the price cap of SMS will increase from N4 to N5.61.
The operators believe that the telecommunication industry has been financially impacted following the nation’s economic recession in 2020 and the effect of the ongoing Ukraine/Russia crisis, which has ultimately, increased energy costs and other operating expenses by 35 per cent.
Also, the introduction of the recent excise duty of five per cent on telecom services had further increased the burden of multiple taxes and levies on the industry.
“As the commission may be aware, the power sector under the supervision of its Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission of the power sector in November 2020 undertook a review of electricity tariffs to cater for the economic headwinds reported above.
“In view of the foregoing, ALTON considers it expedient for the telecommunications sector to undergo periodic cost adjustments through the commission’s intervention in order to minimise the impact of the challenging economic issues faced by our members
“Upward review of the price determination for voice and data and SMS. Given the state of the economy and the circa 40 per cent 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,” the letter reads.