MTN increases data price as telcos implement approved 50% hike 

The revised MTN data prices seen by Naijaonpoint show that MTN’s 1.8GB monthly plan now goes for N1,500.

This replaces the previous 1.5GB plan priced at N1,000.

The 20GB plan has been adjusted to N7,500, up from N5,500, while the 15GB plan now costs N6,500, a rise from N4,500.

While other mobile operators comprising Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile are yet to update their data prices as of the time of filling this report, Naijaonpoint can confirm that all the networks are now charging N6.00 for text message, instead of the previous N4.00.

Speaking at a forum two weeks ago, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo had disclosed that all the operator had sent their new tariff plans to the NCC and were awaiting approval.

The NCC had on January 20 announced that it had approved a 50% tariff adjustment for telecom operators, citing rising operational costs and the need to sustain the industry.

Meanwhile, the Presidency has defended the 50% hike in tariff approval granted to the telecom operators, saying it was necessary to keep the telecom industry viable.

It, however, noted that the approval does not mean that the telecom operators must immediately increase their tariffs by 50%.

“It is important to highlight that this approval does not mean automatic increases in tariffs. Operators are free to maintain their current rates if they find them sustainable,” the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre, stated in a recent statement.

While describing the approval as an important step aimed at addressing critical challenges in the telecommunications sector, the Centre noted that the telecom industry in Nigeria had operated under static price mechanisms for over a decade as prices have remained unchanged since 2013, despite significant increases in the cost of operations.