By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian will today, Friday, January 10, 2025, know what they will henceforth pay to make calls, send SMS, and browse the internet as telecommunication operators have received the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to raise tariffs.

This will bring an end to the long-term tussle for a hike in tariffs, which telcos wanted to be at 100 per cent, but the Nigerian government rejected.

Industry sources have shared with the media that the new tariffs will be announced by the NCC on Friday.

on Wednesday, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijan, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, said the NCC would come up with modalities for tariff adjustment in the telecoms industry.

“We’ve look at a number of things in terms of how to ensure that can meaningfully contribute to the development of Nigeria.

“Some of those things include implementing the Executive Order around ensuring that we can protect infrastructure around telecoms, driving up significantly local content and importantly, ensuring the sustainability of the companies themselves that as we see inflation across the world that telecommunications companies, we don’t run them down but we allow them to continue to be sustainable so that they can contribute to our economy.

“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs, requesting for 100 per cent tariff increase. This is not something that as a government we will be able to subscribe to at the minute,” he stated.

Recently, the chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, said in an interview that although operators have put forward the 100 per cent suggestion, he doubts that the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), would accept.

“Now, we’ve put forward requests of approximately 100 per cent and type increases to the regulators,” he said.

The operators have also said the sustainability of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria needs to be addressed, if not, it could negatively impact Nigeria’s economy.

Mr Toriola’s counterpart at Airtel, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, in an op-ed published by this newspaper said it was needed to acquiesce to the proposed tariff adjustments in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector while unlocking significant benefits for Nigerian consumers.

“For over a decade, tariffs have remained static despite the dramatic increase in operating expenses, which have surged by over 300% in the last 18 to 24 months alone,” he wrote.

By Dinesh Balsingh

As Nigeria continues its journey towards becoming a digitally driven economy, reliable telecommunications services remain the backbone of our collective progress. At Airtel Nigeria, we are committed to delivering world-class connectivity to millions of Nigerians, enabling economic growth, empowering businesses, and enhancing lives.

We understand that the future technology needs of the country, as ushered in by the highspeed 5G era of AI, Cloud computing, Data science applications, and Blockchain, should be directing significant investments towards building a resilient network. However, the industry faces significant challenges that require a closer look as we strive to maintain the high standards that our customers deserve.

Increased Intensity of Investments: The increasing demand for digital services across sectors such as education, media, banking, transportation, and manufacturing has come with an increased demand for telecom capacity.

Upgrading networks to deliver more data capacity is key to a sustainable future. To help ensure that the Nigerian economy keeps pace with the global improvements in technology and communications while supporting the aspirations of consumers, we also take on the responsibility of executing new technology and system upgrades as well as improved security. Data security is now more than ever a priority as more and more people upload personal information online.

All of these require significant investments which are sourced from the international markets at costs denominated in US Dollars. In the past three to four years, for instance, the dollar has gone from exchanging for about N500 to over N1,600. This more than three-fold increase in foreign exchange conversion exponentially increases the cost of investments required to run a good quality network.

In addition to this unprecedented hike in capital expenditure, the operating costs have surged dramatically, with operating expenses rising by over 300% in the last 18 to 24 months alone.

While several critical areas of the business are impacted, I would, for expediency, focus on three of those areas: Rising Energy Costs, Infrastructure Challenges, and a Commitment to Quality Service.

Rising Energy Costs: Powering telecommunication infrastructure requires significant energy resources. Energy is the single largest operating cost for running a network. With increasing global energy prices and while efforts are ongoing to fully stabilize the power supply in Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and other operators in the sector are incurring soaring costs to keep networks running seamlessly.

Infrastructure Challenges: The industry continues to grapple with rampant fibre cuts and vandalization of critical infrastructure. These incidents not only disrupt services but also demand substantial investments to repair and maintain facilities.

Commitment to Quality Service: Despite these challenges, Airtel Nigeria has remained steadfast in ensuring quality of service. From expanding 4G and 5G networks to meeting growing demand in urban and rural areas, we have painstakingly absorbed the rising costs of these obligations to avoid compromising the customer experience and ensuring Nigerians, regardless of their location, have access to mobile communication and remain connected to the digital economy.

Telecommunications operators have worked tirelessly to sustain services despite keeping tariffs unchanged for the last 10 years. While tariffs have remained static for over a decade, the economic realities necessitate a review to ensure the sustainability of services hence our recent application to the government for tariff adjustment which if approved will be a step towards addressing this imbalance. It is not a decision taken lightly but one borne out of the need to guarantee continued investment in network expansion, technology upgrades, and improved service delivery.

The telecommunications sector is pivotal to Nigeria’s ambition to become a digital economy leader in Africa. Meeting this aspiration requires operators to make substantial investments in network infrastructure, spectrum acquisition, and innovative solutions. These investments come at a cost, one that must be shared proportionally to ensure long-term viability.

At Airtel Nigeria, we remain resolute in our commitment to:

Delivering Quality Services: The government continues to monitor operators’ compliance with service quality standards. Airtel is dedicated to surpassing these benchmarks, ensuring customers experience uninterrupted and superior connectivity.

Driving Economic Growth: By expanding our network and enhancing digital inclusivity, we are enabling the government’s economic turnaround agenda and fostering opportunities for all Nigerians.

Being a Reliable Partner: Despite industry challenges, we are steadfast in our role as a trusted partner in Nigeria’s digital transformation journey.

While significant tariff adjustments have become warranted for the sustainability of the industry, Airtel has always been sensitive to affordability and understands that the price adjustments must be done gradually to support our customers’ financial positions. We believe that approval of revised tariffs will empower operators to invest in capacity, expand coverage to underserved areas, aim for advanced security on the networks, and improve service quality and network availability while ensuring that Nigeria remains competitive in the global digital landscape.

As we navigate the present imperatives together, we urge all stakeholders, including customers, regulators, and partners to recognize the importance of building a resilient telecommunications ecosystem. Airtel Nigeria remains committed to delivering unmatched value while supporting the nation’s economic development.

Dinesh Balsingh is the Managing Director/CEO of Airtel Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya

Top African telecommunication company, MTN Group, will focus on core markets including Nigeria as it concluded the sale of its MTN Guinea-Conakry business to the Guinean government.

According to MTN Group President and CEO, Mr Ralph Mupita, the development is a significant milestone for MTN Guinea-Conakry.

“MTN Group Limited announces the conclusion of the sale of its operations in Guinea, to the State of Guinea, on 30 December 2024,” the MTN Group said.

“This milestone marks a new phase for MTN Guinea-Conakry under local ownership,” added Mr Mupita.

He said the sale also aligns with the company’s strategy to simplify its portfolio and allocate capital to markets where it can make a meaningful impact and ensure long-term growth and returns.

Mr Mupita said the company is evaluating its portfolio as it narrows its focus and resources to core markets, including MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana, its biggest West African assets.

MTN has the largest share of the Nigerian telecommunication markets and has been at the forefront of adopting and expanding the country’s 5G services, where it has almost 80 per cent of the market.

In May 2023, the company revealed that it was in advanced talks with the Axian Group regarding selling some of its West African markets, including MTN Guinea-Conakry.

It noted that the deal wasn’t finalised, and there was no guarantee it would proceed.

Then, in March 2024, the company announced that the Telecel Group had bought two West African units, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry.

At the time, Telecel Group CEO, Mr Moh Damush said the African-focused telecoms company is buying MTN’s debt and equity in the regions. He didn’t disclose the size of the acquisitions.

MTN operates in 19 countries in the region and has already exited certain Middle Eastern businesses such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.