‘Current pricing regime not sustainable’ –Telcos, as price hike looms
Telecommunications operators in the country have decried the current pricing regime for their services, which they insist is not sustainable in view of the rising cost of operation.
The operators also frowned at the seeming politicisation of policies in the industry, as they hinted at another round of price increases for services provided to customers.
Speaking at the just-concluded second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo, organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NC) in Lagos, Wednesday, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, maintained that the issue of price reviews for services has become imperative in the industry in order for operators to continue functioning and providing services to customers.
According to Adebayo, based on prevailing market realities, such as increases in electricity costs, high foreign exchange rates, and others, the imperative of an upward price adjustment ‘has become inevitable.’
“We also must have one hard conversation, I know it is difficult, but it is one we must have. The current pricing regime of the industry is not sustainable. We are basically selling below cost. It is not easy to talk about, but we cannot continue like this. We must allow market forces to determine prices. On our end, we must look at a more realistic pricing offering because today’s pricing regime is not sustainable.”
Adebayo further posited that the politicisation of the industry has been responsible for most of the current issues besieging it. He explained that the USSD debt with banks would have cleared if political agendas had not prevailed.
“We must not subject our regulator to political agendas. The biggest problems that we have today, that we are dealing with as an industry, are some simple policy issues that have subjected to politics.
“Let me speak for a bit about the issue of USSD debt. That was a simple commercial agreement that entered into political intervention and has led us to these points. The people dealing with the problems today, both at the level of the NCC, the ministry, CBN did not create the problem.
“USSD is a provided service under a willing-buying pattern. We provide the service, and get paid for the service that was rendered. We provide the service, we don’t get paid, then we follow the rules. But when that time comes, and the policy makers’ intervenes, then it becomes a problem.”
He advised that the NCC must be allowed to remain independent under the new administration.
It would be recalled that telecommunications operators have been insisting on increasing the prices of their services following the increase in the cost of operation caused by rises in the pump price of diesel and petrol, in addition to the free floating of the local currency, the Naira in the parallel exchange market.
