By Abaire Bisola
Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is projected to suffer an $870 million decline in capital expenditure by 2026 due to an 11-year delay in tariff adjustments, according to an internal MTN Nigeria document obtained by The PUNCH.
The downturn is expected to hinder infrastructure expansion, technology upgrades, and new service rollouts.
Capital investments in the sector fell from $1.41 billion in 2022 to $1.16 billion in 2023 and are forecasted to drop further to $470 million by 2025.
By 2026, spending is expected to reach just $500 million, an 18% decline from 2022 levels.
The funding gap is largely attributed to telecom operators’ inability to raise tariffs, limiting their capacity to cover operational costs and invest in network expansion.
In response, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved a 50% tariff increase, the first in over a decade.
Set to take effect in February 2025, the adjustment aims to boost investment and stabilize the sector.
