Nigeria’s telecommunications industry has reduced its workforce by 383 employees in one year, according to reports from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This reduction, predominantly impacting GSM operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and Value-Added Service (VAS) providers, coincided with a drastic 85.35% increase in total operating expenses (OPEX), which jumped from ₦3.16 trillion in 2023 to ₦5.85 trillion in 2024. The NCC attributed the cost surge to high energy prices, currency devaluation, inflation, and excessive regulatory fees.
The NCC officially cited several macroeconomic and regulatory factors as the primary drivers of the 85.35% rise in OPEX. These include higher energy costs, persistent inflation, crippling foreign exchange (FX) pressures, and multiple charges, particularly the excessive Right-of-Way (RoW) fees levied by some state and local authorities.
The most massive job losses occurred within the GSM segment, which cut staff from 7,212 to 6,658. ISPs and VAS operators also saw notable reductions, reflecting an industry-wide effort to rationalize costs.
The workforce cuts follow a decline in the active voice subscriber base, which fell by 26.61% (from 224.7 million to 164.9 million) after the enforcement of the NIN-SIM linkage policy. This contraction of the customer base pressured operators’ revenue streams and necessitated internal restructuring.
Despite shrinking subscriber numbers and mounting operational costs, operators increased Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) from ₦990.55 billion in 2023 to ₦2.90 trillion in 2024, driven by the high cost of imported equipment and continuous network expansion.
Telecom operators maintain that the increase in costs, which they cannot fully pass on to consumers through tariff increases, makes sustained operations and talent retention extremely difficult. They stress that the multiple levies, particularly high RoW fees in key states, continue to obstruct necessary infrastructure deployment.
The NCC’s report showed that the sector’s overall revenue still grew by 44.70% (to ₦7.67 trillion) in 2024, and its contribution to Nigeria’s GDP marginally increased to 14.40%. The NCC pointed out that it has successfully secured zero RoW fees in some states, demonstrating regulatory efforts to ease the fiscal burden, even as the high cost of imported equipment drives up CAPEX.
