Telecom operators have rejected the call for mass action called by the organised Labour the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
The mobile network operators (MNOs) also said they have shared their tariff templates with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) with a view to getting approval before implementation.
The telcos argued that the NLC leadership ought to have consulted with the National Union of Postal and Telecommunication Employees (NUPTE) which is affiliated to the NLC before threatening to pull down the country.
Recall that the Private Telecom Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, had in a letter addressed to NLC President, Joe Ajaero, faulted the decision of the Administrative Council for directing “affiliate unions to commence the mobilization of their members for protest on 5th February 2025.”
Represented by the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, Chief Corporate Service Officer at MTN Nigeria, Tobe Okigbo, Director of Corporate Communication and CSR at Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran and representatives from 9mobile including Director, Product Development Innovation and Business Development, Kenechukwu Okonkwo and its Communications Lead, Chineze Amanfo, spoke at a forum organised in Lagos at the weekend.
The operators underscored the necessity of the tariff hike, saying it was to save the industry from total shutdown.
Adebayo likened telecom infrastructure to a super highway which, if allowed to shut down, would spell doom for the national economy.
He said the 50per cent tariff hike will enable the telcos to start the process of recovery.
Okigbo said the sector was nearing an inflection point before the NCC granted the approval. He said keeping the light on by way of keeping the infrastructure running is therefore important to the national economy.
He said the telcos pay renewal fees for the use of each subscriber identity module (SIM) card in use, saying the operators only make money when the SIMs are used.
He described the demand of Labour as asking for structural risk.
Adeniran described the 50per cent tariff approval as being in the interest of the subscribers.
Adebayo said the telecom sector cannot be used to subsidize other sectors of the economy, underscoring the need to charge appropriate tariffs for services offered.
Speaking on the timeline for implementing the new tariff regime, he said the operators are following regulatory requirements of filing rates, adding that in weeks, “we will start seeing it”.
On the promise of improved service quality, Okigbo said the regulator has set three months for the operators, saying the equipment used in the sector is not plug and play. He promised that operators will do their best.
Adebayo said the promise of improved service quality is contingent on the operationalisation of CNI, arguing that a situation where operators suffer about 50 willful fibre cuts is not healthy for the sector.
On USSD debt, he said substantial progress has been made, saying the money is being paid and “we are making progress”.
