The Federal Government has faulted the proposal by telecommunications companies to raise their tariffs, emphasising that increasing data, voice and text message prices isn’t the “sole or optimal solution” to the sector’s challenges.
It also urged the companies to explore innovative solutions to counter inflationary pressures and high operating costs.
The Minister of Communications Innovations and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, gave this advice at the launch of the Nigeria Digital Economy Report on Thursday in Abuja.
The report launched by the GSM Association, an international organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide, analyses the Nigerian economy and the government’s digital transformation strategy.
The report also examines the role of the Nigerian mobile industry in supporting economic development and recommends initiatives to help the government achieve its national development objectives.
It also features the latest statistics as it concerns connectivity and forecasts on digitisations role in driving economic growth.
Recently, telecommunication companies in Nigeria renewed their push for an increase in the prices of calls, data, and other services after multiple failed attempts in the last 11 years.
In a communiqué signed by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, the telcos argued that the current prices are insufficient to maintain their business operations.
The operators stated that its general service pricing framework had not been reviewed upward in the last 11 years because of regulatory constraints.
Restating this position, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, said investments in the sector had begun to dwindle due to varying challenges of currency devaluation, high cost of business, fossil fuel, multiple taxation, amongst others.
He insisted that a hike in telecom tariff was inevitable given the realities/outlooks of the present economy, maintaining that only a continuous flow of investments could sustain its viability
