Telecommunication Operators, including Globacom, Airtel, MTN and others, have threatened to raise tariffs if the Federal Government does not resolve critical issues currently affecting the industry.
Speaking on behalf of the telecos at a press briefing in Lagos on Thursday, Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), gave the Federal Government seven days to act.
Adebayo added in his words that “the action by KIRS was hinged on an ex parte court order obtained by the KIRS over unsubstantiated allegations that our members are in default of tax payments to the state government (which is not the truth) and access to these critical telecom sites has been denied.
“This issue is likely to lead to a total communications blackout in the entire Kogi State, parts of Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and possible impact on service availability in some parts of the following States: Nassarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States because they share border with Kogi state.
He also said the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the office of the Director for Signage & Advertisement has refused to grant telecommunication service providers a permit to build infrastructure in the Federal Capital City. This is one of the problem affecting the quality of services around FCT Abuja.
Adebayo also expresses his dissatisfaction saying that: “We are concerned that unless there is an intervention to save this sector, operators will have no choice but to begin a process of price review.
“The state of security in our country is of concern, while we commend all our security agencies for the work they do to keep us all safe, the impact of the general state of security in the country is that we are not able to provide 24/7 support in certain areas as it is unsafe to send out service personnel to some parts of the country and to other at certain times of the day”.