Telcos Slam Starlink for Subscription Hike, Call it a Breach of Regulatory Guidelines
According to Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON’s chairman, the move disregards the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) strict regulatory framework, which governs pricing in the telecommunications industry.
“We are a highly regulated industry and take exception to any violation of regulatory guidelines,” Adebayo, who made the comment on Monday, added that Starlink had not obtained the necessary approval from the NCC before implementing the price hike.
On October 1, Starlink increased its standard monthly subscription price in Nigeria by 97.37 per cent, from N38,000 to N75,000, citing inflation as the reason.
In response, the NCC expressed surprise and confirmed that while Starlink had submitted a request for a price adjustment, no approval had been granted. The regulator has since initiated pre-enforcement actions against the company for the unauthorized hike.
The issue comes at a time when the Nigerian telecom sector is under pressure to review tariffs due to rising operational costs. Telecom operators, including ALTON members, have been lobbying for a long-overdue increase in tariffs, noting that prices have remained unchanged for over a decade.
Adebayo emphasized that without necessary tariff adjustments, the sector faces challenges in attracting investment, expanding broadband infrastructure, and maintaining service quality.
If the requested tariff increases are not approved, the industry could suffer from reduced growth, compromised service quality, and a negative impact on sectors that depend heavily on reliable telecom services.
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