Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have on Thursday urged the federal government through the Nigerian Communications Commission to consider the review of the current tariff regime in the telecom sector because it is no longer sustainable in this current economy.
Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, appealed in Lagos at a stakeholders’ meeting with the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida.
He stated that the price review should be considered in line with the rising cost of operations, nothing that 52 taxes across the country burden operators.
He said “Our current pricing regime is no longer sustainable. That is the fact, with the way things are going, I am not sure we can sustain this sector with the current pricing regime,” he said
The chairman said that the government sees the telecom sector as critical to the economy, he appealed that the operators should improve the quality of their services and boost job creation in the country.
He also urged the EVC to intervene in the N200 billion debt that Deposit Money Banks are owing them for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).
The total USSD debt must be paid to telecom operators, noting that the association is ready to block debtor banks from accessing the service, he said.
Dr Bosun Tijani, the NCC boss while reacting, assured the stakeholders of his support and commitment to the growth of the sector, he stated that his action would be guided by the Renewed Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the policy guidelines enumerated by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
