The telecom giant, MTN has warned regulatory authorities and the Nigerian Government against more stringent licence conditions. It says these actions will place an increased cost burden on the telecom subscribers and they will have to pay more.
Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology Minister, Omobola Johnson said the Government would probably revalue MTN’s phone spectrum in order to have better service and infrastructure written into the contracts.
According to Andrew Bing, Chief Technical Officer at MTN Nigeria, “Tougher rules, tougher regulations, greater demands ultimately will impact price, the more you charge up front or the more you demand over a period of time, well somebody has to pay for it. Ultimately the subscribers are the people who will have to pay,”
Bing also added saying “It’s bigger than the power sector combined, it’s bigger than the cement industry, but they get away with everything, yet everybody wants a piece of us,”
The company struggles with power supply and cuts to its fibre-optic network, making it a challenge to meet the regulator’s standards.
The company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Ikpoki said that MTN spent about 34 billion Naira on diesel to power its base stations across the country last year due to a lack of regular electricity.
Bing emphasized that tougher regulations will mean increased cost of doing business and ultimately, the end users/subscribers will have to pay more for services provided.
