A telecom expert, who asked not to be named, also confirmed that telcos were pushing for an increase in the delivery cost. The expert noted that the industry has not been able to respond to price shocks and it has begun to affect it.
The expert said, “If we keep pegging prices and we cannot respond or adjust based on the reality on ground, we can’t keep subsidising consumption indefinitely.
“This will eventually lead to a price review. This should have happened before now. It has been on the table, we had been putting up with a lot of things, we need some type of help. We have been leveraging on volume, but it is a business we need to keep investing in, upgrading the tech, and it is money.”
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Since Bola Tinubu administration began with the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, prices of many goods and services have risen. Mobile telecommunication service is crucial to the Nigerian economy and is a crucial component of its GDP.
As of April 2023, there are 223.34 million mobile subscriptions in the country. Raising prices of telecom services is set to affect everyone, the president, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told The PUNCH.
He said, “They can’t increase prices now, that will be totally insensitive. Fuel subsidy is gone, electricity is planning an upward review, we are against this. It will affect businesses again, telecoms is everything to us.”