The latest regulatory push by the NCC to recalibrate interconnect fees has triggered widespread consumer panic over a potential “double-hike.”
Whenever news breaks regarding pricing adjustments within Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, a wave of public anxiety is almost guaranteed. This hyper-sensitivity is entirely justified over 185 million subscribers are still adjusting to the economic impact of the major retail tariff hikes approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2025, which saw voice, data, and SMS rates surge by up to 50% to offset soaring diesel costs, currency depreciation, and heavy inflation.
Consequently, when the NCC recently kicked off a comprehensive study to review industry termination rates, rumors immediately began circulating that a fresh consumer price hike was imminent.
However, a firm clarification from the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has drawn a sharp line between consumer-facing retail tariffs and backend industry pricing. As detailed in Technology Times’ analysis of ALTON’s tariff assurance and why the cost review is not another retail price hike, the ongoing regulatory exercise is strictly focused on wholesale economics not the end-user’s pocket.
At the heart of the current debate are Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs). MTRs are the internal, wholesale interconnection fees that telecom operators pay to one another to terminate a cross-network call. For example, if a 9mobile subscriber places a call to an Airtel recipient, 9mobile pays Airtel a set fee per minute to complete that call on Airtel’s infrastructure.
The structural problem is that Nigeria’s current MTR architecture has been frozen in time. The active rates where established operators pay ₦3.90 per minute and newer market entrants are charged an asymmetric rate of ₦4.70 per minute were set back in 2018.
An eight-year freeze during a period of unprecedented macroeconomic volatility means these rates no longer reflect the modern cost of running a network. The emergence of 5G infrastructure, heavy investments in data-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) network routing, and the licensing of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) have entirely transformed the digital ecosystem since 2018.
Speaking on the necessity of the wholesale review, ALTON Chairman Engr. Gbenga Adebayo emphasized that the exercise is about building a healthy, sustainable backend ecosystem. Rather than squeezing consumers, a balanced MTR framework ensures that smaller operators are not priced out of the market by dominant players via inflated interconnection barriers.
Furthermore, the industry is leveraging the headroom provided by the previous 2025 retail tariff adjustments to aggressively upgrade infrastructure. The sector recorded approximately ₦2.13 trillion in capital expenditure in 2025, with an additional ₦1.86 trillion projected for deployment throughout 2026.
This multi-trillion naira investment pipeline is being injected directly into expanding 5G network density, strengthening fiber-optic resilience against vandalism, and securing off-grid solar energy installations for remote cell towers. However, to keep this capital flowing, the wholesale interconnect rules must align with actual cost realities.
See also:NCC, CAC tighten oversight of telecom ownership changes
With global consulting firm KPMG appointed by the NCC to lead the cost study over the coming months, the ultimate goal is to transition Nigeria’s telecom architecture away from sudden, panicky retail tariff interventions toward a highly transparent, data-driven framework.
By fixing the wholesale pricing underlying the network-to-network pipeline, the regulator is looking to reward efficient infrastructure investments, protect smaller players, and guarantee that the cost of cross-network connectivity remains fair. For the everyday subscriber, ALTON’s assurance means one vital thing: your call credit isn’t about to shrink the telcos are simply restructuring how they pay each other behind the scenes.
About the Author
Praise fortune is a sharp, insightful tech analyst and journalist based in Nigeria, writing for techRegard. Her work serves as a vital bridge between complex corporate maneuvers and the everyday reader, breaking down high-stakes financial, regulatory, and technological shifts across the African continent into clear highly readable narratives.
