Telecommunications operators 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.
The Chairman of The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, appealed in Lagos at a stakeholders’ meeting with the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida.
He said price review should be considered in line with the rising cost of operations, adding that 52 taxes across the country burden operators.
“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
Noting that the government sees the telecom sector as critical to the economy, he urged the operators to improve the quality of their services and boost job creation in the country.
He also urged the EVC to intervene in the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debts owed them by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), which he noted has now hit N200 billion.
According to him, the total USSD debt must be paid to telecom operators, stressing that the association would not hesitate to block debtor banks from accessing the service.
The NCC boss while assuring the stakeholders of his support and commitment to the growth of the sector, said 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, Dr Bosun Tijani.
Maida noted that the government sees the telecom sector as critical to the economy; he urged the operators to improve the quality of their services and boost job creation in the country.
