The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday commended the Federal Government’s decision to hike call and data tariffs, as well as invest in the sector’s infrastructure.
ATCON President Tony Emoekpere told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that though the increase was long overdue, it was welcome and a work in progress.
Emoekpere said that, as earlier advised, the tariff hike should be implemented in the first quarter of the year so that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can start planning.
Consideration for 100% increment
Emoekpere said that, though, the decision to hike the tariff was a little late in coming, given the fact that the tariff had remained stagnant for years, a 100% tariff increase is also not too big a consideration.
“Like I said, the issue is a work in progress. Although it’s still a bit late considering how many years the tariff has remained stagnant, a 100% hike will not be a big leap.
“However, if the federal government’s decision had been delayed longer than this, a 100 per cent tariff hike would have been a lot worse.
“We (Telcos) will have to see what’s best. We have to look at how well to do this work in development,” the ATCON president said.
Government’s plans on infrastructure
Emoekpere added that the federal government’s intention to also invest in telecommunications infrastructure was standard practice, as it was done in other climes.
- He noted that telecommunications is a critical national infrastructure, and it is always important that the government have a say in telecommunications infrastructure.
- According to him, in other countries, the government still invests in infrastructure and this would be a welcome development in Nigeria.
- He said this would also boost the operations of the sector because if the government has vested interest in the sector, it would ensure that the infrastructure is actively protected.
According to Emoekpere, vandalising of telecoms infrastructure in the country has been successful over the years, because the infrastructure was not being actively protected.
He noted that with the government’s involvement, he believed that vandalisation would reduce to the barest minimum.
Backstory
Nairametrics on Wednesday reported that the federal government had agreed to implement tariff hikes in the telecom sector in response to the yearnings of the operators.
- The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijan, who announced this during a stakeholder meeting with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Abuja, however, noted that the increment that would be implemented would not be 100% as requested by the telecom operators.
- According to the minister, very soon, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would approve and make the new tariffs public to Nigerians.
- He also announced the government’s plans to start investing in telecom infrastructure to deepen connectivity in the country.
