It is no longer news that the telecoms sector in Nigeria went through a crucial phase last year, with industry players calling for proactive steps to prevent further decline. Telecom operators repeatedly lamented the high cost of operations, excessive taxations and a decline in investments within the sector. Telcos were leaning towards load shedding to reduce operational costs, according to chairman of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigerian (ALTON), Engr Gbenga Adebayo. Some of these problems and more may also shape events in the sector to this year.
Tariff Review or Low Quality Service
Telecom operators have demanded for urgent review of service tariffs to reflect the economic realities of delivering telecom services for industry sustainability. Without this, they said, quality service and it’s availability could not be guaranteed this year, and that the economy would suffer for it.
The chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr Gbenga Adebayo who made the call on the behalf of the all operating companies said the sector is currently under and siege tariffs must be reviewed urgently to avoid collapse of sector. So, this year, they said, it is either tariff increase or low quality service.
“If nothing is done, the sector might begin see in the new year grim consequences unfolding, such as Service Shedding”, Adebayo said.
He argued that operators might not be able to provide services in some areas and at some times of the day leaving millions disconnected and there will be significant economic fallout.
He said, “Despite the dire warnings, we still believe that a better 2025 is possible—but only if we act now. Let this be the moment when we come together, acknowledge the urgency of the situation, and commit to saving this sector.”
Likely Legal Tussle Over Hike
But the operators may not have smoothly as the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has rejected the planned tariff hike of telecommunication services in Nigeria, and threatened to challenge it in court.
Though sources in the telecom industry said that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had given an approval to the Telecommunication Service Operators to hike their tariffs this January, and the approved increment would see the current tariffs rise by about 40%, the NCC has neither denied nor confirmed this supposed increment.
However, NATCOMS considered “the decision of the NCC as very insensitive and not in the interest of Telecoms Services Consumers”. NATCOMS’ president, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo and the National Secretary, Barrister Bayo Omotubora said the new increment would be one additional burden too many for Nigerian telecom users, and it would be challenged in court.
Under the new tariffs regime, a voice call will rise from N11.00 to N15.40 per minute, short message services will jump from N4.00 to N5.60 and One GB data bundle will move from N1,000 to N1,400.
Low operating costs, high investment
The ICT and digital economy sector may witness low operating costs and high investment this year as fuel costs go down gradually. The low operating costs will give the operators more revenue to be able to invest more in their networks.
Telecom Infrastructure’s Vandalism May Rise Further
Just before 2024 wound down, telecommunication company, Airtel Nigeria, called for urgent actions to protect telecom infrastructure as vandalism continues to surge leading to a record of an average of 43 fibre cuts daily on the Airtel network alone!
The company’s Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, who made the call, said the telco had suffered a total of 7,742 fibre cuts in the last six months.
According to him, fibre cuts—primarily caused by construction activities, vandalism, and a lack of coordination between stakeholders—have become an epidemic in the Nigerian telecom industry.
But this may worsen this year the federal government and its agencies have not shown any noticable commitment towards yielding the operators’ call for protection of their infrastructure across the country.
Starlink’s Subscription Rates Will Go Up
A satellite internet service, Starlink, has said it will increase its monthly subscription rates for its services in Nigeria from January 27.
The company, in an email to users, said new subscribers will immediately pay the adjusted prices while existing customers will see the changes reflected in their upcoming bills.
“To continue enhancing the Starlink network and provide reliable, high-quality service across Nigeria, we are adjusting our monthly subscription prices,” Starlink said.
“These changes are part of our ongoing commitment to investing in the infrastructure needed to improve your experience with Starlink.”
Under the new pricing structure, the firm said the lowest subscription tier will increase significantly from N38,000 to N75,000 per month.
Starlink said the price of the mobile-regional roam unlimited is now N167,000 while the mobile-global roam service is N717,000.
MTN May Exit From More African countries
MTN Group Limited had sold its business in Guinea (known as “MTN Guinea-Conakry”) to the State of Guinea, effective December 30, 2024.
This deal is consistent with MTN’s focus on portfolio optimisation and simplification as part of the Ambition 2025 plan, the telco said.
MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, announced the new development: “This milestone marks a new phase for MTN Guinea-Conakry under local ownership. We thank the staff, customers, regulators, and broader stakeholders in Guinea for their support during our time in the country.
“Concluding this transaction is in line with our strategy to simplify our portfolio and allocate capital to markets where we can make a meaningful impact, ensuring long-term growth and returns.”
The closing of the sale comes after Mupita informed shareholders and markets in April that the telco’s objective was to “streamline and restructure” its portfolio.
At the time, he said that the business had completed the sale of MTN Afghanistan, which marked the end of the group’s exit from its Middle East companies.
Mupita added: “We also accepted an unsolicited offer, subject to conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals for MTN’s equity interests in MTN Guinea-Bissau and MTN Guinea-Conakry.”
The development comes as Africa’s largest mobile provider is reportedly in talks to facilitate MTN’s seamless exit from three other African countries in its West and Central Africa portfolio.
According to the telco’s reports, MTN is facing a number of issues in West and Central Africa, and leaving some of the countries is becoming a viable option, according to some senior officials.
MTN is Africa’s largest mobile network operator with 288m customers in 18 markets across Africa.
Day in Court Over NIN Data Breach
The Paradigm Initiative (PIN) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC’s) legal tussle over alleged NIN data breach will begin this month. NIMC is joined in the suit with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
Others joined in the suit, whose hearing has been fixed for January 22, 2025, at an Abuja High Court, are the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.
NIMC had denied any breach to its database, saying NIN data of Nigerians are intact and not compromised.
But PIN Executive Director, Gbenga Sesan, that though NIMC had been consistently denying that NIN data were hacked, millions of Nigerians have had their personal data which was stored in the commission’s data base hacked by hackers sometime in April this year.
Sesan said, conservatively, data of 43million Nigerians might have been compromised by cyber criminals due to the negligence of NIMC.
Heavy Fines For Data Breaches in 2025
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has announced plans to significantly ramp up enforcement and impose substantial fines on data controllers and processors that violate the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
This was disclosed by the National Commissioner/CEO of the Commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji, in a video outlining the Commission’s 2025 agenda, shared on its social media platforms at the weekend.
Olatunji stated, “For data controllers and processors, there is going to be massive enforcement. We have never really issued any fine, but going forward, you’ll hear us giving heavy penalties.”
[DailyTrust]