The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has officially commenced a comprehensive regulatory review of Mobile Termination Rates (MTR), signifying the first major reassessment of the nation’s wholesale telecommunications pricing framework since 2018. Formally launched during an industry consultative forum in Lagos themed “Understanding Mobile Termination Rates,” this statutory exercise aims to realign interconnection pricing with prevailing economic, technological, and competitive dynamics. The MTR, which dictates the wholesale charges cross-network operators remit to one another for call termination, remains a critical anchor for retail tariffs, infrastructural investment, and service quality.
Exercising its statutory mandate under Sections 4, 96, 97, and 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, the Commission is empowered to promote robust investment, enforce fair competition, and safeguard consumer interests against discriminatory pricing. Speaking at the forum, the NCC’s Head of Competition and Tariff, Mrs. Omotayo Mohammed, emphasized that the current asymmetric MTR framework—fixed at ₦3.90 per minute for generic operators and ₦4.70 per minute for new entrants—has remained static for nearly a decade. Consequently, the existing pricing architecture no longer mirrors current operational expenditures or market realities.
The regulatory body cautioned that outdated termination rates risk creating severe competitive distortions, stalling capital injection, and inadvertently inflating retail costs for subscribers. To mitigate these risks, the NCC is executing this review in strategic partnership with KPMG Nigeria as the appointed consultant. The rigorous, evidence-based exercise will evaluate severe macroeconomic pressures currently impacting licensee expenditures, notably the substantial depreciation of the naira, persistent inflationary trends, and escalating energy costs required to maintain network uptime.
Beyond macroeconomic factors, the review is heavily driven by rapid technological evolution and the resultant shifts in network architecture. The capital-intensive rollout of 5G infrastructure, alongside the commercial integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), has fundamentally altered traditional data traffic patterns and network cost structures. Furthermore, the market has experienced significant disruption from Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, alongside the licensing of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), both of which have altered legacy voice traffic streams.
To address these systemic shifts, the four-month consultancy exercise will focus on several critical pillars to establish a cost-reflective and technology-neutral MTR framework. Key areas under technical consideration include the reassessment of asymmetric pricing advantages for new market entrants, the formal establishment of interconnection pricing models for MVNOs, and a rigorous review of USSD and Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS pricing. Additionally, the Commission will scrutinize International Termination Rates (ITR) to implement stringent measures against illicit grey-route traffic and revenue leakages.
The Commission reemphasized its commitment to regulatory transparency, promising stakeholders full visibility into the published methodology, underlying economic assumptions, and cost model parameters. Concluding the forum, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, characterized the initiative as one of the Commission’s most critical statutory consultations. She underscored that the ultimate determination of these rates bears wide-ranging financial implications for institutional investors, service providers, and the broader digital ecosystem, demanding sustained, data-driven collaboration from all licensees.
Industry stakeholders and operators highly anticipate the final regulatory framework, recognizing its potential to reshape the trajectory of Nigeria’s telecom pricing and competitive landscape. A successful recalibration of the MTR is projected to reinforce market stability, prevent anti-competitive behavior, and catalyze targeted investments into next-generation infrastructure. By aligning wholesale tariffs with modern operational realities, the NCC aims to foster an affordable, resilient, and highly secure digital economy that directly supports Nigeria’s long-term digital transformation agenda.