Nigeria’s telecom operators have moved swiftly to calm growing anxiety among subscribers over possible tariff increases, following the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) review of Mobile Termination Rates (MTR).

In a strong reassurance, the operators stated that the adjustment was strictly an industry-level measure and would not translate into higher call or data charges for consumers.

At the same time, the sector recorded a significant milestone: 2.29 million new SIM cards were activated in April 2026, according to fresh NCC data. The surge underscored the resilience of Nigeria’s telecom market, which had continued to expand despite economic headwinds.

The telcos, under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), stated that the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) was between telcos and not expected to be a burden on the about 188 million subscribers in the country.

The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, at the weekend on a monitored television programme, said: “I must assure the public that what is going on is a regular process where our regulators determine what is a fair price for operators to charge amongst themselves, for calls they carry and terminate on each other’s network.”

He said there was no discussion of upward review of tariff for telecom consumers, explaining that what NCC started was a cost study that determined the wholesale rate between operators, which is the internal charges among service providers.