Karl Toriola, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of MTN Nigeria, has said that the country’s telecommunications sector is “in intensive care unit”.

He added that a hike in cost of services was inevitable.

The MTN boss said although the sector had grown over the past two decades, it is now threatened by rising costs and unsustainable pricing.

Toriola made the points on Tuesday at the telecom investment forum organised by Financial Derivatives Company, FDC, in Lagos.

Toriola said “qualitative action needs to be swift and decisive to prevent the collapse of this industry” as time is of the essence.

According to the MTN Nigeria CEO said: “There’s no way under the surface of the earth, in the kind of inflationary environment and forex devaluation that we’ve seen, that an industry can maintain prices the same for 11 years.

“The telecoms sector has faced escalating costs across the board — from the cost of capital to the soaring expenses of maintaining infrastructure like base stations and diesel generators.

“Without adjustments to pricing, the industry’s ability to function and attract investment is in jeopardy.”