Following speculations in the public domain about its plans to review upward telecommunications tariffs by January in 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), at the weekend debunked the reports, saying they are not factual and therefore should be disregarded by the public.
The Commission clarified that that the procedures regarding hike in tariffs were usually more rigorous, data-driven, evidence-based and never based on speculations as had been case over the past few weeks in the public space.
A source at the NCC was quoted as attributing the raging speculations on tariff hike to the agents of some telecom operators, who over the past months had been canvassing the need for urgent review of the tariffs.
According to the source, talking about any increase in tariff is illogical since the Management Board to take such a decision in the NCC does not exist now after the dissolution of the former Board by the Presidency some months ago.
Similarly, he pointed out that any tariff review would only carried out by after Board’s approval and the engagement of consultants by the commission to carry out a study on price review, following which there will be stakeholders engagement will take place to consider economic implications and imperatives that call for review.
The source further clarified that after all these procedures had been completed and new price template provided that the commission would announce the time frame of up to 90 days for implementation to allow all stakeholders be prepared for the increase.
He queried that how can NCC announce revised tariffs for voice and data services in January next year when the required procedures had neither been initiated nor met.
It would be recalled that there was a review of telecom tariffs was 2013 but even then the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), based on the last review exercise, still have windows to increase tariffs based on the regulatory requirements
The 2013 review template provided that the lowest the MNOs can charge subscribers for airtime per minute was N6 40 kobo, while the highest was set at N50 per minute.
Available data on tariffs by the telcos currently showed that while some were charging N18 per minute, others charge N15 per minute and others still below that tariff rate.
