ALTON Cries as Huge Taxes and Levies Choke Operations, QoS

Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has compiled the litany taxes and levies telecommunications operators pay to governmental bodies across the three tiers and various non-state entities and how they hinder quality of service provisioning.

The report also suggested that operators are compelled to make these payments, or their base transceiver stations (BTS) may face the threat of closure, potentially jeopardizing the quality of service (quality of service) they provide.

The payments range from Right of Way (RoW) charges; tertiary education trust fund tax  which was raised from 2.5 per cent to 3; value added tax (VAT) on cell towers or BTS.

Operators are also fretting as national and state houses of assemblies prepare legislative bills to introduce fresh taxes and levies on private enterprises, including telecom operators.

Telcos further pointed to rising cost of automotive gas oil (diesel) with the attendant effects on telecommunications operations.

According to ALTON, “The 300 per cent increase in diesel cost which was implemented at the beginning of the year, humongous indebtedness in the industry, lack of access to and increased rate of foreign exchange to service their operations, dire levels of insecurity across the country with increased theft and damage to our members sites, have all prevented our members from running their business efficiently and profitably.”

ALTON however reaffirmed the telcos’ dedication to enhancing Quality of Service (QoS) and the overall quality of experience for all subscribers.

The body emphasized their ongoing investments in expanding network coverage and capacity to enhance the overall quality of service, all for the benefit of their valued customers

Apart from the issues mentioned above, the telcos are battling to retrieve from banks an outstanding N120 million debt owed from Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).