The federal government has finally succumbed to the demands of Telecoms Operators for an increase in tariffs of their services.
Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who announced the position of the federal government on Wednesday at the end of the meeting with telecommunications service providers, however said the increase will be below the 100 percent increase demanded by the Telecoms Operators.
Tijani said that the outcome of the meeting implied that telecommunications users would have to pay higher charges.
In the words of Tijani; “The essence of this gathering is recognizing the telecom sector’s critical role in driving Nigeria’s economic development.
“Tariff will go up. That is the verdict. But, it won’t be by 100 per cent. We need to ensure that as a sector, we put the right regulations in place that can ensure the growth of this sector, continue to contribute to job creation, and enable other key sectors in the country as well,” he said.
The minister said that the development implied that calls, data, and SMS prices will increase for the average Nigerian.
In his own remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida said that there would be adjustments to be accompanied by measures to simplify billing systems in a way to increase in transparency.
Maida said; “We have revised our quality of service regulations, bringing the entire value chain into scope for compliance, from MNOs to tower codes and transmission companies.
“So, when we do see these tariff modifications, they will also come with simplification. So, every MNO or every service provider must comply with a simplified template to show Nigerians what you are charging per minute, per voice, per SMS, and per megabyte of data,” he said.
