Nigeria’s once-thriving telecommunications sector is facing an unprecedented crisis, with its GDP growth rate plummeting from 11.71% in Q1 2023 to 5.17% in Q2 2024. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports a steady decline, attributing it to a challenging operating environment marked by inflation and currency depreciation.<\/p>\n
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Industry stakeholders reveal that telecom operators’ revenue growth is overshadowed by economic challenges, including forex losses due to the dwindling value of the Naira. MTN and Airtel Africa have reported significant losses, with MTN incurring a whopping N740 billion ($815.79 million) in FX losses.<\/p>\n
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The devaluation of the Naira has led to reduced investment in the telecom sector, which relies heavily on imported infrastructure. Industry analysts warn that the sector’s decline threatens the digital economy.<\/p>\n
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According to industry analysts, the devaluation of the Naira has led to dwindled investment in the telecoms sector. The telecom operators rely heavily on importation of infrastructure to grow and expand their capacity.<\/p>\n
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Akin Naphtal, Founder\/CEO of Africa Digital Economy Forum (ADEF), urges the government to address perennial challenges in the telecom sector, including high right-of-way fees and multiple taxation. Telecom operators, under ALTON and ATCON, clamor for a tariff increase to mitigate the impact of inflation and Naira devaluation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTelecommunications is the engine room of the digital economy. A steady decline in the GDP growth rate of the sector for more than a year is a clear indication that things are not going the right way.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBefore the current forex and inflation issues, there have been the perennial challenges of high right-of-way fees and multiple taxation, which have held the industry down for years. There is an urgent need for the government and all stakeholders to address these issues in the interest of the digital economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is conducting a cost-based study to determine if it will approve price increments for telecom operators, who are currently restrained from pricing appropriately due to regulatory limitations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria’s once-thriving telecommunications sector is facing an unprecedented crisis, with its GDP growth rate plummeting from 11.71% in Q1 2023 to 5.17% in Q2 2024. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports a steady decline, attributing it to a challenging operating environment marked by inflation and currency depreciation. Industry stakeholders reveal that telecom operators’ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,135],"tags":[346],"class_list":{"0":"post-144133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"category-techn","9":"tag-telecom-industry"},"yoast_head":"\n