{"id":58796,"date":"2025-01-01T15:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T15:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=58796"},"modified":"2025-01-01T15:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T15:12:59","slug":"telecom-subscribers-reject-proposed-tariff-hike-amid-economic-hardship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/01\/01\/telecom-subscribers-reject-proposed-tariff-hike-amid-economic-hardship\/","title":{"rendered":"Telecom Subscribers Reject Proposed Tariff Hike Amid Economic Hardship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Adenike Lawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), has strongly opposed a proposed telecommunication tariff hike, describing it as \u201cinsensitive\u201d and an undue burden on Nigerians grappling with economic challenges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This stance was outlined in a communiqu\u00e9 issued after an emergency meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rejection follows indications that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), may approve telecom operators’ requests for higher tariffs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although a source within the NCC recently dismissed rumors of a January 2025 tariff increase, telecom operators argue that existing rates fail to reflect Nigeria\u2019s economic realities, citing inflation, currency depreciation, and escalating costs of dollar-denominated equipment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The proposed changes would see voice call rates rise from N11.00 to N15.40 per minute, text messages from N4.00 to N5.60, and data from N1,000 to N1,400 per gigabyte.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Operators claim that tariffs have remained static for over a decade despite mounting operational costs and multiple government levies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the communiqu\u00e9 signed by Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo (National President), and Barrister Bayo Omotubora (National Secretary), NATCOMS criticized the NCC\u2019s alleged approval of a 40% tariff increase.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They argued that such a move would further strain consumers and limit access to essential communication services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NATCOMS also highlighted the impact of taxes, including an excise duty introduced by the 2020 Finance Act, which was suspended after public outcry but remains under legal dispute.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Federal High Court hearing on the legality of this excise duty is scheduled for March 13, 2025, in Lagos.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While acknowledging the financial pressures on telecom operators, NATCOMS suggested alternative funding measures, such as listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, to address operational challenges without burdening consumers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The association urged the NCC to withdraw any tariff hike approvals and called on operators to explore consumer-friendly solutions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They warned that the proposed increases could exclude millions of Nigerians from accessing vital communication services, contravening the NCC\u2019s mandate to protect consumer interests.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NATCOMS reaffirmed its commitment to promoting affordability and accessibility in Nigeria\u2019s telecommunications sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Adenike Lawal The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), has strongly opposed a proposed telecommunication tariff hike, describing it as \u201cinsensitive\u201d and an undue burden on Nigerians grappling with economic challenges.   This stance was outlined in a communiqu\u00e9 issued after an emergency meeting on Tuesday.   The rejection follows indications that the Nigerian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":58797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58798,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58796\/revisions\/58798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}