Unless they are permitted by the industry regulator to undertake a substantial increase in phone tariffs in order to meet the phenomenal increase in their operating costs over the past eighteen months, the country’s major telecom operators intend to borrow a leaf from Discos and institute a system of load shedding, top industry sources have informed 21st Century Chronicle. Load shedding, as practiced in the electricity industry, will entail shutting down telecom services to certain parts of the country for hours on end.
This frightening prospect, industry sources said, was advanced by the major telecom firms that have absorbed huge increases in operating costs over the last 15 months and have suffered billions of naira in losses. Added to their woes was the steep fall in the naira’s value against the dollar, since a lot of their critical inputs are imported. The industry players pointed out that in maintaining their base stations twenty-four hours a day, they consume 40 million litres of fuel every day. The cost of a litre of diesel has gone up from N170 eighteen months ago to about N1,200 at present, but there has been no increase in telecom tariffs since 2013.
A demand was put forward for an increase in phone, SMS and data costs of between 100 and 200% but after a rigorous study of the data and engagement with the telecom firms, the National Communications Commission [NCC] regulator is set to approve a much lower hike in telecom tariffs as early as Monday, 21st Century Chronicle learnt. NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Aminu Maida also firmly told the operators that the Load Shedding option was out of the question because it will disrupt not only social, business and security communication but will disrupt banking and financial services as well.
