Calls and data fetch N1.92tr for the two networks
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
MTN and Airtel made a combined N1.92 trillion revenue from calls and data in the first nine months of the year to September (9M 2022), an increase of 18.27 per cent above N1.62 trillion in 9M 2021, according to their latest financial results.
MTN Nigeria made N753.78 billion from calls and N549.66 billion from data. Airtel generated N342.71 billion ($780 million) from calls and N274.61 billion ($625 million) from data.
MTN cited inflation, supply chain uncertainties, and foreign exchange (forex) scarcity as drivers of financial pressure on consumers and businesses.
“Our operating environment remained challenging in the first nine months of 2022.
“The ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility continued to drive up energy, food, and general inflation, with the annual inflation rate in Nigeria rising to a 17-year high of 20.8 per cent in September 2022,” MTN said in its result.
“Supply chain uncertainties were exacerbated by the unavailability of foreign currency needed for capital expenditure. These headwinds continue to put severe financial pressure on consumers and businesses.”
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Steady recovery
MTN disclosed its data traffic grew 70.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
“Voice revenue grew by 4.4 per cent, maintaining a steady recovery as more customers are reactivated, and gross connections continue to ramp up,” MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola explained, per The PUNCH.
Airtel said data usage per customer rose to 4.8 GB per month in 9M 2022 from 3.9 GB per month in 9M 2021.
NCC rejects telcos’ 40% tariff hike request
A request for a 40 per cent tariff hike by telecom firms – because of crippling multiple taxation and escalating operational costs, such as the price of diesel – was turned down in June by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) had written to the NCC proposing the rise in the cost of calls, short message service (SMS), and data because of the rising cost of doing business.
ALTON requested to raise the price of call from N6.4 to N8.95 and SMS from N4 to N5.61 as the NCC Act 2003 says operators cannot increase charges without approval from the regulator.
NCC Chief Executive Officer Garba Danbatta acknowledged receipt of the letter but explained action could not be taken on it this year because a lack of funds for a cost-based study to determine whether or not a tariff hike was justified.
“The proposal is under consideration by the Commission and there is a need to do a cost-based study on the market segments. There is, however, no provision for doing this in the 2022 budget,” Danbatta wrote in an e-mail.
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