Just In: 1GB Data sells for N487 as Federal Government makes moves to cut data prices

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy says the Federal government has taken measures to reduce the cost of data by 51.2 per cent. The development will see a reduction in the cost of data from N1000 for 1GB to N487.18.

The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the cut was higher than the planned reduction of the cost of 1GB data to N925 by December 2020.

The statement signed by Femi Adeluyi, technical assistant to the minister of communication, Isah Pantami, said the move followed a report submitted to the ministry by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).  

The minister of communication had in December 2019   developed the Nigerian National Broadband Plan to be achieved between 2020 to 2025.

The plan included the goal to reduce the average cost of 1GB of data to a maximum of N390 by 2025.

The ministry had projected a steady decrease at the end of each year, with 2020 projected to reduce to N925, 2021 (N850), 2022 (N775), 2023 (N700), 2024 (N545) and 2025 (N390). 

The ministry said, “In line with Dr Pantami’s commitment to under promise and over deliver, the measures have caused the current cost of data to reduce significantly beyond the December 2020 projection of N925. The average cost of data as at November 2020 was N487.18, which amounts to 47.33% lower than the projected value. The Report also indicates that the cost of data in November 2020 was less than 50% of the cost of data in January 2020. 

It said it would continue to ensure that consumers enjoy a price regime that supports fairness and is friendly to consumers across the country.

The communication ministry said, “Policies are in place to ensure that operators adopt competitive pricing that eschews unjustifiable margins. The general public may also wish to note that complaints about rapid data depletion are also being investigated. 

“All hands will remain on deck to achieve the goals of the Broadband Plan as the Ministry supervises its implementation in line with our National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria.”