Telecom subscribers in Nigeria will sooner than later pay more for services as operators namely MTN, Airtel and Globacom are mulling for increase in tariff to reflect inflation and rising cost of doing business.

In a statement jointly released by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday and co-signed by ALTON’s Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo; and ATCON’s President Tony Emoekpere, the operators called upon the government to take decisive action in addressing the numerous challenges confronting their industry.

The telcos said telecommunications infrastructure development requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades.

“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last (11) years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.

“For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.

“ATCON and ALTON call upon the government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability,” the statement said.

The telcos also said regulatory neutrality and independence of the NCC are crucial to ensuring a thriving telecommunications sector.

“Statutory provisions lend credence to this notion, as a lack of an impartial regulator will lead to a failure to maintain public confidence in the objectivity and independence of its decisions,” the statement added.