NCC Begins Review of Call, SMS Interconnection Rates
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun reviewing interconnection rates for calls and SMS services, eight years after the last adjustment.
Interconnection rates, also known as Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs), are wholesale charges one network pays another when its customer calls across networks. The current rate is ₦3.90–₦4.70 per minute.
If revised upward, telecom users could face higher call and SMS tariffs, according to industry reports.
At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Wole Adenekan of KPMG said rates that are too low fail to reflect the true cost of termination services and can discourage infrastructure investment.
“A mis-set MTR can enable dominant operators to foreclose smaller competitors through high termination barriers. A cost-reflective rate supports a level competitive playing field,” he explained.
He noted that inflation, naira devaluation, rising energy costs, and new technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT have reshaped operators’ cost structures, making the 2018 framework outdated.
Competition from Over-the-Top (OTT) players such as messaging apps has also reduced reliance on traditional interconnection, weakening wholesale revenues.
NCC’s Omotayo Mohammed, head of competition and tariff policy, said the review is a major economic intervention to align regulation with rapid sector changes.
She stressed that frameworks must evolve to remain effective, citing Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).
The Commission said the review will safeguard consumer welfare while ensuring tariffs remain reasonable, cost-reflective, and non-discriminatory, balancing industry sustainability with public interest.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun reviewing interconnection rates for calls and SMS services, eight years after the last adjustment.
Interconnection rates, also known as Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs), are wholesale charges one network pays another when its customer calls across networks. The current rate is ₦3.90–₦4.70 per minute.
If revised upward, telecom users could face higher call and SMS tariffs, according to industry reports.
At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Wole Adenekan of KPMG said rates that are too low fail to reflect the true cost of termination services and can discourage infrastructure investment.
“A mis-set MTR can enable dominant operators to foreclose smaller competitors through high termination barriers. A cost-reflective rate supports a level competitive playing field,” he explained.
He noted that inflation, naira devaluation, rising energy costs, and new technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT have reshaped operators’ cost structures, making the 2018 framework outdated.
Competition from Over-the-Top (OTT) players such as messaging apps has also reduced reliance on traditional interconnection, weakening wholesale revenues.
NCC’s Omotayo Mohammed, head of competition and tariff policy, said the review is a major economic intervention to align regulation with rapid sector changes.
She stressed that frameworks must evolve to remain effective, citing Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).
The Commission said the review will safeguard consumer welfare while ensuring tariffs remain reasonable, cost-reflective, and non-discriminatory, balancing industry sustainability with public interest.