The Nigerian Communications Commission has announced plans to hike telecom tariff amid declining subscribers purchasing power.
According to the Commission, the new tariff plans are expected to be announced by December 13, 2024.
The development is coming weeks after MTN, one of Nigeria’s leading operators lamented the unfavourable operating environment and high operational cost, warning that it might be forced to shut down if the current tariff was not reviewed.
While hinting on the planned tarrif hike, represented by the Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Dr Maida Waida said during an interactive session in Abuja that the new tariff would place a cap, limiting operators to not more than seven tariff plans.
“On December 13, 2024, a new tariff plan will be announced against the old date of October 27, as announced. We have gotten stakeholders to make inputs.
“At the end of completing the exercise, a limit has been giving to the operators. With this, no operator is expected to have more than seven tariff plans.
“We believe that this measure will bring some kind of relief to telecom consumers and will eliminate misconception on the use of data and airtime.”
“The commission has been carrying out awareness campaign on this through adverts and advocacy to a large extent.”
The commission also played down the complaint on data depletion by telecoms customers.
“On data depletion complaints by consumers, the NCC boss said, the commission has carried out a deep dive on this and mandated operators to engage a reputable audit firm and after the exercise, it found out that there is a wrong perception about data depletion.”
“What consumers must know is that usage of data is not same on every Android phone.”
“As a consumer-centric regulator, the commission has embarked on public awareness on this for consumers to have better understanding of their data depletion.”
The commission also directed telecommunications companies to update their contact details before January 9th.
“This directive aligns with the NCC’s efforts to enhance regulatory processes, improve industry oversight, and strengthen Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.”
