Telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria have submitted a request to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) proposing a 40% increase in the cost of text messages, calls and data subscription due to inflation in the country.
Driving the news
According to the proposal, the 40% hike would increase the cost of calls from N6.4 to N8.95 and SMS charges from N4 to N5.61.
- In the request letter sent to the NCC, the Nigerian telecoms operatives claim that their cost of operations has increased by 40% following the economic recession of 2020 and the current war between Ukraine and Russia.
What they are saying
The mobile operators speaking under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTCON) explained that the 40% increase in cost of operations is a summary of a recent 5% increase in excise duty and 35% hike in energy cost following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
State of play
Coupled with the inflated cost of operations Nigerian telecom operators have been facing, they have recently had to restrict activities on about 75 million of their users according to a directive by the federal government. This is having economic effects on the revenue generated by the telecom operators.