Nigeria’s telecommunications sector is teetering on the brink of a crisis, with operators warning of imminent service shedding that could disconnect millions of subscribers by 2025.
The alarm was raised by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) during an end-of-year stakeholder meeting, as the industry faces mounting economic challenges.
Rising operational expenses, driven by record-high inflation, volatile exchange rates, and escalating energy costs, have severely strained the industry. Despite these challenges, telecom tariffs have remained stagnant, leaving operators unable to sustain network maintenance and expansion.
“The telecom sector demands immediate reform for its sustainability. Tariffs must reflect the economic realities of delivering services. Without this, operators cannot guarantee service availability,” said ALTON chairman, Gbenga Adebayo.
Adebayo cautioned that without urgent intervention, service shedding could become inevitable.
“Operators may be forced to limit services to certain areas and times, disrupting connectivity for millions. This would have far-reaching economic consequences, particularly for sectors like security, commerce, healthcare, and education, which rely heavily on telecom infrastructure.
“Businesses will face significant connectivity challenges, stalling growth and innovation. The national economy will suffer from a ripple effect of disruptions,” Adebayo warned.
ALTON’s plea comes amidst ongoing discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to approve new tariffs after over a decade of lobbying. Operators argued that a tariff review is the only way to avert the looming crisis.
The financial strain on the sector has been evident. In 2023, major players like MTN and Airtel suffered combined foreign exchange losses of N1.29 trillion. MTN recorded a N514.93 billion FX loss in 2024, while Airtel’s revenue dropped by 46.9 percent to $755 million. Investments in the sector have already been scaled back, further exacerbating the situation.
CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “If tariffs don’t increase, operators will have no choice but to shut down.”
In its reaction, NCC has stated that any news of a hike is speculative. “I am not sure anyone from the commission can speak to that. Nobody has any final say on it yet. It is speculative at the time,” it added.
Meanwhile, the minister of Digital Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani has hinted that significant changes are on the horizon. “By mid-2025, we will begin to see not just minor improvements, but significant progress.
We are also conducting a study to assess the sustainability of our telecommunications sector and identify what must be done to make it more competitive. Beyond tariff increases, the government must also invest in digital infrastructure.
“That study, we are going to be seeing the results in the next one or two weeks on the sustainability of our telecommunication sectors. What are the things we need to do to ensure that we can support them to be a lot more sustainable? Beyond just the conversation that has been out there about increasing tariffs, which is what everybody is talking about. We think, yes, there may be a need for it, but there’s so many other things that we need to do as a country to ensure that that sector is competitive and beyond just supporting them to be competitive, that governments must also invest in digital infrastructure as well,” Tijani stated.
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