Nigerian citizens may have to pay more for phone calls in the near future

According to the Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the telecom industry’s present rate structure is unsustainable as of this Thursday.

At a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos with Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), the Chairman of ALTON, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, revealed this.

He added that operators are subject to 52 taxes nationwide and that price reviews should take increased operational costs into account.

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“The pricing structure we currently have is unsustainable. That is the truth: given the current state of affairs, I doubt that the industry can be sustained at the current price structure,” he stated.

The Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debts owing by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to the EVC, which he stated have already reached N200 billion, were another area he encouraged the EVC to get involved in. He emphasised that the organisation would not think twice about preventing debtor banks from using the service, but that the entire debt must be paid.

He told the NCC EVC that industry stakeholders support him and that it’s crucial to set a deadline for any decisions made at the conference.

As part of efforts to raise service quality, Mr Anthony Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), stated that bridging the nation’s telecom infrastructure is necessary.

While assuring the stakeholders of his support and dedication to the sector’s growth, the head of the NCC stated that his actions would be guided by President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Agenda and the policy guidelines outlined by Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.

He reminded the operators that the government views the telecommunications industry as vital to the nation’s economy and called on them to raise employment levels and enhance service quality.