The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday commended the Federal Government’s decision to hike call and data tariffs, as well as invest in the sector’s infrastructure.
ATCON President Tony Emoekpere told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that though the increase was long overdue, it was welcome and a work in progress.
Emoekpere said that, as earlier advised, the tariff hike should be implemented in the first quarter of the year so that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can start planning.
Emoekpere said that, though, the decision to hike the tariff was a little late in coming, given the fact that the tariff had remained stagnant for years, a 100% tariff increase is also not too big a consideration.
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“Like I said, the issue is a work in progress. Although it’s still a bit late considering how many years the tariff has remained stagnant, a 100% hike will not be a big leap.
“However, if the federal government’s decision had been delayed longer than this, a 100 per cent tariff hike would have been a lot worse.
“We (Telcos) will have to see what’s best. We have to look at how well to do this work in development,” the ATCON president said.
According to Emoekpere, vandalising of telecoms infrastructure in the country has been successful over the years, because the infrastructure was not being actively protected.
He noted that with the government’s involvement, he believed that vandalisation would reduce to the barest minimum. NAN
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