Emma Okonji
Telecoms operators at the weekend broke their silence and explained reasons for the recent approval granted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on telecoms tariff hike, which will take effect this month.
Their explanation at the weekend in Lagos was sequel to agitations from several telecoms subscribers’ groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), that kicked against the planned tariff hike.
The agitators said the planned increase would add to the financial burden that Nigerians and telecoms subscribers currently faced. But the telcos, who spoke after two weeks of silence since NCC announced the tariff hike, said the hike was necessary to save the telecoms industry from collapse.
Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer at MTN Nigeria, Tobechukwu Okigbo, who spoke at the Telecoms Forum in Lagos, said the telecoms industry was almost sliding into inflation before the tariff adjustment penultimate week. Okigbo added that the 50 per cent hike in telecoms tariff will help save the industry from sliding into inflation.
Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, who was also present at the Telecoms Forum, representing all the telecoms operators in Nigeria, said telecoms operations in Nigeria had become the superhighway on which the Nigerian economy rode. Adebayo said if Nigerians should allow the highway to collapse, everyone, including government, will suffer for it.
Adebayo stated, “That’s what can happen when the highway is broken. In our sector, we are nearing death. And you know what the implication of that can be when the communication superhighway of Nigeria breaks down.”
Asked when Nigerians would begin to feel the impact of improved telecoms services, based on the 50 per cent hike in tariff, Okigbo said in three months from the date of implementation of the tariff hike, subscribers would experience significant improvement in the quality of service across networks.
He said, “In the past one year, the prices of tomatoes have increased 381 per cent, yam, 296 per cent, Irish potato 286 per cent, among others. So, I think the conversation here is not whether the industry should get a price increase.
“I think the conversation is, what do we want to see from the price increase? I assure Nigerians that before three months, Nigerians will begin to experience improved service quality across networks.”
In his response, Adebayo said, “I think we will go through, first, a period of recovery, because of the deep hole that we have suffered in our finances. And in recovery, we hope things get better.
“As has been said, I don’t want to echo that enough. We have become the most critical infrastructure for anyone, and we will do well to satisfy Nigerians with quality service.”
Chief Customer Relations and Experience Officer at MTN Nigeria, Ugonwa Nwoye, also used the forum to address subscribers’ concerns about fast data depletion.
Director, Corporate Services and Brand Management, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Femi Adeniran, said telecoms operators on a daily basis were confronted with multiple challenges that had affected service quality.
Adeniran said, “We asked for increase in tariff not because of the profit that we will make, but because we are paying more when services are not available to customers, and we need money to fix our networks in order to provide quality service.
“Today, there are over 100 million Nigerians connected to voice. And when you talk about voice, you are talking about the lowest of the lowest in terms of revenue generation.”
