NCC Approves Mobile Tariff Increases as Voice Calls to Cost ₦15.40/Min, SMS at ₦5.60, 1GB Data at ₦1,400 Starting 1st January 2025.
The NCC has though refuted the reports on 40% increase in tariffs for services rendered by telecommunications service providers beginning in January 2025.
On the 27th of December 2024, news filtered in that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved new mobile service tariffs, set to take effect in January 2025:
See breakdown:
- Voice Calls: ₦15.40 per minute (up from ₦11)
- SMS: ₦5.60 per message (up from ₦4)
- 1GB of Mobile Data: ₦1,400 (up from ₦1,000)
In the last couple of years telecom operators have mounted pressure on the commission for a tariff increase, which according to them is in consonance with the current operating business environment in Nigeria.
News like this will sure leave a lot of people startled, and starting like a rumour, just like many policies.
The NCC has not officially debunked the news, it was an unnamed source, which we only can hope is reliable.
The source from the NCC said the purported reports about tariff increase “is fake news, spurious and the figment of the imagination of the author of the news.”
The sources said that NCC has a well-known procedure for price increases for telecoms services. However, the commission’s regulatory power, as contained in the 2003 NCC Act, does not permit it to do so until it has conducted wider consultation with industry stakeholders based on the “cost-based study,” which will provide the empirical validity for the recommendation. This is done to protect consumers’ interests.
This line of action, he added, will look into the current economic realities of the country based on the macroeconomic variables such as inflation and exchange rate. He stressed that the board of the NCC has a role to play in the matter after wider consultation before any action can be taken.
These increases report come at a time when inflation in Nigeria has reached a record 34.6% in November 2024, the highest in nearly 30 years. This inflation spike, driven by rising food prices and high energy costs, has put additional financial pressure on Nigerians, making mobile services more expensive.
Despite these challenges, the tariff hikes are expected to encourage greater usage of mobile data, particularly for communication on apps like WhatsApp. Telecom operators that provide superior mobile data Quality of Service (QoS) are likely to benefit the most from the trend toward increased data usage.
While the tariff increase provides some relief to service providers facing rising operational costs, it is still a short-term solution to the broader economic issues, particularly the ongoing impact of foreign exchange (FX) fluctuations.
The longer-term solution lies in fostering a strong local tech ecosystem that can reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported technology and enable operators to pay for local infrastructure in domestic currency, potentially shielding the sector from future inflationary pressures.
