Even before the three-month period that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has provided them, the nation’s telecom providers have stated that they are striving to guarantee an increase in the calibre of their offerings.
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Mr. Tobe Okigbo, stated that the operators have already started the process of ordering new equipment to increase capacity during a forum of telecom CEOs and the media over the weekend regarding the recently approved 50% tariff increase.
“According to NCC’s assessment, we should see an improvement in service quality in three months, but we will attempt to shorten it since, in reality, the higher the quality, the more money you spend, and the better for us.
People occasionally make the mistake of believing that higher quality benefits telecommunications businesses. We lose money each time you phone us and each time you are unable to browse,” Okigbo said.
Additional elements affecting service quality, Okigbo pointed out that there are a number of additional issues that affect service quality in the telecom industry in addition to the cost problem, which would be resolved with the rate hike.
He claims that frequent fiber outages and telecom equipment vandalism are two examples of such problems.
At the most recent intervention meeting between the telcos and the government, he claimed, MTN’s CTO reported that the business was recording 37 fiber cuts per day, while Airtel’s CTO informed the government that they were recording an average of 44 fiber cuts each day.
The Chairman of the Association Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, also spoke at the forum organized by MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile. He stated that while the operators would try their best to raise the quality of their services, the impact would also be determined by outside factors.
Within the allotted three months, he said, efforts would be taken to guarantee that Nigerians begin to notice progress.
But I regret to inform you that we will speak again in three months if the unrelated issues are not addressed.
“I think we’ll have a different conversation in three months if the frequency of fiber cuts continues, if people continue to steal batteries from base stations, and if people continue to steal diesel from the sites,” he stated.
In favour of raising tariffs, Adebayo asked for customers’ opinions on the newly authorized 50% rate rise, stating that it was for the benefit of the economy because the telecom sector’s viability was seriously threatened.
Adebayo promised users that better services, more transparent pricing, and greater economic assistance would result from the new tariff regime.
He claimed that a number of factors, notably the price of diesel, had an impact on the dynamics that resulted in the most recent tariff revision.
He went on to say that the sector would also have to reevaluate its rates if those things changed quickly.
Speaking at the meeting as well, Mr. Femi Adeniran, Director of Corporate Communications and CSR at Airtel Nigeria, stated that the telecom operators had the customers in mind when they approached the government for pricing increases.
He claimed that this was done to guarantee that millions of Nigerians will have access to sustainable telecommunications.
“We wish to be able to assist our clients. Over 100 million Nigerians have voice connections as of right now. And the lowest of the lowest is what you’re talking about when you discuss voice.
“There are folks I know who are saving money on transportation because they can make calls. Therefore, these are a few of the motivators,” he stated.
And the background behind this is the necessity to maintain the sector and growing operating costs, the NCC stated on January 20 that it had authorized a 50% price increase for telecom providers.
The ruling highlights the Commission’s regulatory authority under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, according to a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, Director of Public Affairs.
NATCOMS claims that important parties, including subscribers, were not sufficiently consulted before this decision was made.
Gbenga Adebayo, the chairman of ALTON, explained that although operators will make every effort to meet the three-month period for improving service quality, which is one of the justifications offered for the tariff increase and there is no absolute assurance that the improvement will be made in that time frame.
He promised that the public will be informed of any developments.
In response to customer complaints, telecom executives Kenechukwu Okonkwo and Ugonma Nwoye advised users to turn off automatic downloads in their WhatsApp settings in order to prevent excessive data usage from pointless group chat material.
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