Are They Reading The Room At All? As Telcos Call For Voice, SMS, Data Tariffs Review, The Starlink Roar Gets Louder
The Oasis Reporters
July 11, 2024
It’s a pity that the Nigerian economy has been driven round a harsh bend on the highway and everyone from critics to hailers of the government are groaning loudly.
Telecommunications companies in Nigeria are urging the Nigerian Communications Commission to approve an increase in tariffs for voice and data services.
According to them, this is due to the need to mitigate the challenging economic environment currently facing the sector.
But the missing anchor in the request is the business model that has not considered the options now available to telecommunications users by fast evolving technologies which stare at GSM companies in Nigeria with over 40,000 masts that must be maintained with electricity generators and everything ancillary to the operations of the base stations with bright eyes.
It took the ingenuity of just one man, Engineer Elon Musk and his team at Space X to launch 100 satellites into Space that provides direct to cellular use all over the world.
Don’t be surprised if you spot SpaceX’s cellular Starlink technology lighting up the night sky: A new study finds that the company’s “direct to cell” satellites are nearly five times brighter than a regular Starlink satellite.
A team of scientists published a paper examining SpaceX’s new direct-to-cell Starlink satellites, which the company began launching in January. Although there are only about 100 of these satellites in orbit, they already stand out from the rest of the Starlink constellation for their ability to reflect sunlight.
The challenge now is how to prevent the Starlink satellites from interfering with astronomy — which has become a hot topic among scientists and even at the United Nations. But for now, it looks like the new direct-to-cell Starlink satellites are orbiting the Earth without some of the measures in place.
Just as GSM Telcos had the challenge in avoiding an interruption with Aviation communication pathways in this fast evolving telecommunications sector. They resolved all that.
“On June 12, SpaceX explained that they had not yet turned on post-launch brightness mitigation for the DTCs because the spacecraft were still being tested,” said Mallama, who also represents a group under the International Astronomical Union dedicated to protecting the night skies from satellite interference.
Meanwhile the operators in Nigeria are arguing that an increase in tariffs is essential not only to halt ongoing revenue losses but also to stabilize the sector, ensuring its continued contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).
This request, which comes just two months after their initial plea for a tariff adjustment, was made during a special event in Lagos organized by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).
Coincidentally, almost all data subscribers who pay the cash to fuel the GDP growth are complaining about fast depleting data. In other words, data that would be sufficient for a user in a month now may last for only a week or a day at a time that revenue is not growing.
At the event, ATCON President Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere stressed the importance of cooperation between the telecom operators and the NCC.
Acknowledging the presence of the NCC’s Executive Vice-Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maina, Emoekpere emphasized that such gatherings are vital for facilitating dialogue and collaboration among key industry stakeholders.
Emoekpere reaffirmed ATCON’s mission to work closely with the NCC in addressing the industry’s challenges
He highlighted ATCON’s longstanding role in driving the interests of telecom operators and facilitating constructive discussions with regulators, just as he pledged on behalf of ATCON to continue to work with the Commission as they have done in the past.
The telecom operators, including major players like MTN Nigeria and Glo, insist that an increase in tariffs is essential for maintaining the sector’s growth in the face of economic downturns.
They believe that without this adjustment, the industry could struggle to sustain its current level of economic contribution and innovation.
During the event, Emoekpere pointed to the necessity of aligning regulatory policies with the economic realities facing the telecom sector.
He called on the NCC to consider the operators’ plight and approve the requested tariff adjustments to support the industry’s health and viability.
SpaceX’s Starlink is staring at the scenario. If Nigerian telecommunications firms would consider their business model, the best thing to do for now, is to innovate and let end users cope financially or otherwise.
Greg Abolo
gregabolo@gmail.com
