The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, has said telecommunication companies are unanimously proposing a 100 per cent increase in tariffs to the Nigerian government.
He noted that the rising operational cost, inflation and naira devaluation have made the increase in tariffs very necessary for the survival of the industry.
Speaking on the business section of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Toriola expressed doubts that the government will grant the 100 per cent increase request, but hopeful of a substantial increase.
“We at MTN believe we need adjustment of about 100 per cent, I think the industry is pretty much aligned because we are all experiencing the same headwinds. Now, the government is very sensitive to squeezing consumers’ wallets with the pressures that have come from inflation and currency devaluation on consumers.
“So, I’m not sure they will give us 100 per cent, but I am optimistic they will give us something substantial and maybe progressively over the course of the year we can have smaller adjustments that will help us to get back to where we need to be,” Toriola said.
The MTN CEO said that almost every other sector in the country, including aviation and power have increased tariffs except the telecoms industry.
According to him, all the bodies that look into the statistics of the telecoms industry globally have disclosed that Nigeria has probably the second or third lowest tariffs in the world on data as well as on voice.
He assured that with an increase in tariffs, the issue of sustainability in the telecoms industry will be resolved.
“What the tariff allows us to do is to continue to invest, continue to build capacity, build resilience, put in additional generators, authentic power supply system to give you authentic to give you stable and high-quality networks.
“So, it addresses sustainability and also enables the regulators to hold the big stick on the issue of quality of service and allows us consequently to invest in giving the quality of service Nigerians deserve,” he said.
Toriola described 2024 as a torrid year for the telecoms industry in Nigeria due to rising inflation and devaluation of the naira currency by the government.
He, however, appreciated the policymakers for taking some steps that will make the industry sustainable subsequently.
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