Subsidy removal: Expect to pay more, telecoms operators tell subscribers

January 7, 2012, 1:08 pm
News

Lagosn – (NAN) The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said , Friday, that subscribers should expect to pay more for telecommunications services.

ALTON Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, was reacting to the fuel subsidy removal.

Adebayo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the situation would remain like that as long as fuel subsidy removal remained.

He said as in the other sectors of the economy, the telecoms industry would be seriously affected by the subsidy removal.

“Reason being that even though the core of our power is generated by the use of diesel, all other support services are dependent on the PMS.

“Therefore, with the increase in the cost of PMS, it is foreseen that it will also affect the cost of doing business, meaning that it will affect the cost of network operations as well.’’

He said telecoms users should not expect any reduction in tariff, but an increased tariff especially in some states where service providers encounter problems in the course of their businesses.

According to him, some operators cannot maintain their networks in some states in the South-East because of issues of multiple taxes imposed by the government and its agencies.

He warned that discriminatory tariff might be introduced in such states.

“If this problem by government agencies should continue, we may start intmroducing some kind of discriminatory tariff to cushion the effect of those states where operators are made to pay a lot more in local taxes and levies for service provision’’.

Adebayo explained that if that was allowed to happen, making calls from some states might be cheaper but expensive in others depending on operation cost.

He said where the cost of service provision went beyond normal, the load would have to be passed to the end users.

. . . let the inflationary trend begin!