Allow Market Forces Determine Price Of Services, Telecoms Operators Urge Federal Govt

Telecommunications operators have called on the federal government to allow market forces to determine price of services offered in the sector.

This is even as they posited that the ICT sector is not immune to the current economy dispensation, hence, the need to review price of services rendered by them.

The chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, who made the call, at the 2nd edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023), on Wednesday, in Lagos, averred that, operators are currently selling below operating cost.

Adebayo gave instances of the fuel subsidy removal and its impacts on operating cost, adding that, “while we are yet to cope with that, Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) is agitating to increase electricity tariff. If not that electricity tariff is being subsidized by the federal government, we would have been paying higher tariff.

“We have seen the consequences of the removal of fuel subsidy on Operational Expenditures. You can imagine what it would be like if electricity subsidy is removed. No doubt, we are going to face the same hardship that we faced during fuel subsidy removal. That is the reason why we are clamouring for a change as pricing regime in the sector is not sustainable in the current economy dispensation.”

He tasked the new minister, to ensure that, the ICT sector is independent of political interference, adding that, the USSD issue between operators and banks, is still on due to political interference.

On ‘Japa Syndrome’, ALTON’s chairman alluded that the sector is losing a lot of its best and the brightest to japa syndrome, adding that, “we can’t blame our youths who are traveling in search of greener pasture, because as a country, we have not been able to provide enough social guarantees that will keep them

Adebayo however tasked the industry to begin to make preparation for their returns, saying, “Some of them may not want to come home, hence the need for them to work remotely. They can still be in foreign countries and also contribute to the development of the Nigerian ICT sector. All the government need to do is to create policy that would allow them to contribute to the pool of knowledge and operators to give out good incentives to encourage them.”

Meanwhile, the executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said there is huge talents in Nigeria that need to be harnessed. On effort to tackle the ‘japa syndrome’, Danbatta, who was represented by the executive commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Engr Ubale Maska, disclosed that a lot of policies have been created to addressing brain drain in the ICT sector. “We recently had a meeting with Nigerians in diaspora. The trust of the meeting is to ensure that they get value for their innovations,” Danbatta further explained.