The Nigerian Communications Commission, in collaboration with KPMG, a leading corporate consultancy firm, has started a comprehensive review of telecom interconnection pricing as part of its sustained drive to update the sector’s rules and practices in line with global best practices.
The tariff template review exercise was flagged off on Tuesday in Lagos at a Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) stakeholder forum, which featured mobile network operators (MNOs) and other industry stakeholder to reassess wholesale pricing rules that govern payments between networks for completing voice calls.
In industry terms MTRs are regulated fees paid by one operator to another to complete calls across networks and they usually influence competition, investment, and retail pricing.
The NCC stated the current framework, which was last set in 2018 and adjusted in 2022, had become outdated due to structural changes in the telecoms market, including the rollout of 5G, the expansion of data-led services, and the entry of mobile virtual network operators.
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It also cited macroeconomic pressure, including currency depreciation and inflation, which have significantly altered operators’ cost bases as responsible for the review, adding that the exercise is intended to support a pricing framework that is transparent, competitive, and capable of sustaining investment in network infrastructure and service quality.
Speaking at the forum, the commission’s Head of the Competition and Tariff Unit, Omotayo Mohammed, said the exercise being conducted under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 was beyond a routine tariff review and reflected the need to align regulation with a rapidly evolving industry.
He said “For regulation to remain effective in a fast-moving market, our frameworks must evolve in step with it.”
Also, Partner and Head of Tax, Regulatory and People Services at KPMG, Oluwole Adelokun, explained that the exercise would combine data analysis, stakeholder consultation, and international benchmarking to inform a revised pricing framework, and designed to identify gaps in the existing regime and assess whether a structured review cycle is required
To achieve the objectives, he told the participants that “it is important that we get input from the industry in terms of potential solutions and recommendations to address the shortfalls.”
Under the review, the NCC and KPMG will examine pricing practices across wholesale and retail segments and assess whether emerging services are adequately captured under existing regulatory definitions.
In addition, the exercise will also assess the sustainability of prevailing tariff structures, with attention to investment capacity, service quality, and consumer affordability.
As part of the process, the NCC will require operators to submit detailed financial and operational data covering revenue, costs, profitability, market share, capital expenditure, service quality, and usage trends over the years to provide a clearer view of industry trends and the cumulative impact of existing pricing rules.
The engagement will include bilateral technical sessions with mobile network operators, mobile virtual network operators, international carriers, clearing houses, and interconnect exchange providers.
Industry participants are expected to involve finance, technical, and commercial teams in the discussions.
The NCC and KPMG will also benchmark Nigeria’s framework against peer markets, including South Africa and Kenya, alongside emerging economies such as Indonesia and Malaysia as a means of reflecting similarities in macroeconomic conditions and regulatory responses to sector development in the countries.
At the end of the benchmarking exercise, findings from it are expected to guide recommendations for a revised pricing regime aligned with both domestic conditions and international practice.
In her brief remarks, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, said the exercise spanned across the entire telecom value chain, from operators to consumers and investors and that the MTRs remained crucial to the telecoms sector’s pricing dynamics, competition, and service outcomes.
While assuring that the commission will integrate stakeholders’ feedback under its co-creation regulatory approach, she urged operators to comply with timelines for data submission as the process will only be effective with timely and accurate inputs from all stakeholders.
