Just a few days after telecommunications companies implemented their new tariff structure, business owners started to feel its impact. On January 20, 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved a 50% tariff adjustment from the initially proposed 100% increase.
The NCC claimed that the approved adjustment addresses the significant gap between operational costs and current tariffs. However, this decision has plunged online businesses into hardship, leaving them uncertain about their survival.
With this significant increase, MTN’s 15GB bundle, which was previously N2,000, now costs N6,000, while its 1.5TB plan has risen from N150,000 to N240,000. Additionally, the 100GB bundle, once priced at N20,000, now offers only 90GB for N25,000, and the 600GB bundle, formerly N75,000, has been reduced to 480GB for N120,000.
Airtel has also adjusted its pricing, raising the cost of its 3GB two-day plan from N800 to N1,000. Some of its new daily plans now include 40MB for N50, 100MB for N100, and 1GB for N350. Monthly plans have also increased, with 3GB now costing N2,000, 4GB at N2,500, 8GB at N3,000, 10GB at N4,000, 13GB at N5,000, 18GB at N6,000, and 25GB at N8,000.
Glo has followed suit, increasing the price of its 1GB data plan from N330 to N500, the 5GB plan from N1,400 to N2,100, and the 10GB plan from N3,300 to N5,000.
“It has affected me as I cannot post on social media like before because increasing data tariffs is really a problem,” said Tomiwa Adeagbo, who sells male clothing online and uses the MTN network for his business. He added, “Now I have to go back to low data plans, even when I know they will not serve me as they should.”
In 2019, the e-commerce index value in Nigeria stood at 53.2 points, the fourth highest in Africa. Data from 2020 revealed that Nigeria had 76.7 million online buyers. This figure signifies the rate at which Nigerians purchase goods online. However, some of these Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which operate online, will struggle to sustain their operations due to the tariff increase.
Tomiwa lamented that the tariff increase threatens his business survival, as he is already experiencing losses.
“I feel so bad and uncomfortable because I know it will affect my business. I am starting to encounter losses because I have to turn off my data to save costs. In the process, many customers would have messaged me while I was offline, and they would then have to go elsewhere to get their goods.”
Challenges Abound for Businesses in Nigeria
“Sad, that’s the word. Although I recently included data subscriptions in my overhead costs for customers, this increase in tariff plans will result in an increment in the amount I will charge them going forward,” Yesirat Kazeem said while speaking to Within Nigeria.
Yesirat has run a fashion and apparel business in Lagos since 2021. Despite her major production being offline, she has to engage her customers online and train people, which requires mobile data.
“Still, what we generate currently is not enough. Now I need to look for avenues where this increase in tariff plans will not affect me, like doing more online training. There are no sales like before. I’m just managing to post my business on social media platforms, so increasing the tariff plan is a challenge for most of us who run online businesses,” she said.
The ease of doing business in Nigeria remains a major hurdle. As of 2020, Nigeria ranked 131st worldwide in the Ease of Doing Business index, with a general score of 56.9. The index ranks countries based on how conducive their regulatory environment is for business operations.
A report by Nigerian-based research and data firm Mustard Insights revealed that 43.7% of business owners in Nigeria reduced their workforce in 2024 due to several challenges, including the removal of fuel subsidies, the devaluation of the Naira, and an overall surge in inflation, which was 34.8% in December 2024, up from 34.6% in the prior month.
Controversy trail tariff plan increase
On February 11, during a plenary session, the House of Representatives asked the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy to suspend the approval granted to telecommunications companies (telcos) for a 50% tariff increase.
Oboku Oforji, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing the Yenagoa/Opokuma federal constituency of Bayelsa State, moved the motion, arguing that the tariff hike was unjustifiable given the current economic hardship and poor network service.
“The far-reaching effects of these price hikes will deepen financial struggles for the average Nigerian, threaten the country’s vision of leveraging technology to drive economic revival, exacerbate poverty, and widen existing inequalities, hitting lower-income families the hardest,” he said.
The House eventually passed a vote directing the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, as well as the NCC, to suspend the tariff hike until service quality improves.
Despite this, no visible action has been taken.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) also called on workers and the public to boycott the services of MTN, Airtel, and Glo over a recent 50 percent increase in tariffs.
NLC which described the hike as “arbitrary”, demanded an immediate reversal and said the boycott would continue until the tariff is reverted to the previous rate pending the conclusion of discussions by the relevant committee.
