Minister Breaks Silence on Calls to Increase MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9Mobile Data, Call Rates

• Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy has spoken on an alleged plan to increase data cost
• The minister said that the entire conversation that led to the claim was never about increasing data but about data quality
• He, however, admitted that some Nigerians cannot afford data, even though statistics show it is quite cheap in the country

Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has finally reacted to the reported plan to increase the cost of data on telecommunication lines in Nigeria.

The minister noted this on his X page, responding to a report based on his interview on AriseTV.

The report, headlined “Cost of data in Nigeria is one of the cheapest in the world,” highlighted the 4-pillar agenda proposed to transform technology in the nation. The minister spoke about how Nigerians talk about data being expensive in the country, "but it is still one of the cheapest in the world."

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This, however, stirred reactions from Nigerians, who interpreted the conversation as passing a message on a possible increase in data costs in the country.

Minister reacts

Tijani clarified that the conversation on the TV platform was actually about “quality of service, not advocating for an increase.”

Referring to data shared by an online @DrGeeONE spelling out the average cost of data in selected countries as of 2022, he admitted that Nigeria has an affordability issue.

He said,

"Yes, we have an affordability issue, but that doesn’t invalidate the dataset you also shared. To get to where we need to be as a nation, we must be able to have proper conversations!”

Legit.ng recently reported that Nigeria ranks high in the list of top 10 African countries with the lowest data price. The report shows how Malawi ranks ahead of Nigeria for the African country with the cheapest price of one gigabyte (1 GB) of mobile data.

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Despite this, the hardship occasioned by the increasing cost of food, transportation, housing, and other services has forced Nigerians to abandon some SIM cards. They are beginning to prioritise these important items over data on MTN, Glo, Airtel, and others.

NCC Announces New Rates for CUG Calls and Texts on MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile, Starting November 1

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced changes for Closed User Group (CUG) call and data services, Legit.ng reported.

Starting November 1, 2023, Nigerian telecommunication companies will charge a uniform call rate of N50 per minute for CUG services.

Service providers such as MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile offer CUG services that allow enrolled customer group members to enjoy lower call rates and free on-net calls by paying monthly access fees.

Source: Legit.ng