ALTON Warns of N400 Billion Market Collapse Over Unresolved Airtime Credit Disputes

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has issued a stern warning regarding a growing crisis in the telecommunications sector.

At the center of the alarm is a persistent dispute over airtime credit and revenue sharing, which ALTON claims poses a direct threat to a market segment valued at approximately N400 billion.

The association, representing major telecom giants and service providers, cautioned that without immediate regulatory intervention, the ecosystem supporting Value-Added Services (VAS) and digital credit could face total collapse.

The dispute stems from the complex financial relationship between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and third-party aggregators who facilitate airtime lending and digital content delivery.

According to ALTON, the current framework for settling debts related to airtime credit is unsustainable. The association highlighted that a significant portion of the N400 billion market is tied up in outstanding reconciliations and bad debt, primarily driven by subscribers who utilize “borrow me” airtime services but fail to repay or encounter technical glitches during the recovery process.

ALTON’s leadership expressed concern that the financial friction is discouraging further investment in the digital economy. If the service providers cannot guarantee the recovery of credit extended to consumers, their ability to fund infrastructure and maintain service quality will be severely hampered.

This bottleneck not only affects the telcos but also thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that rely on the VAS ecosystem to reach customers.

The association is calling on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to collaborate on a more robust policy framework.

ALTON suggests that the integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) with financial records could be a viable path toward identifying “bad debtors” and enforcing repayments across different networks.

The warning comes at a time when the Nigerian telecom sector is already grappling with rising operational costs due to currency devaluation and high energy prices.

ALTON emphasized that the N400 billion market is a critical pillar of Nigeria’s drive toward financial inclusion. Should this segment fail, millions of unbanked Nigerians who rely on mobile credit for connectivity and micro-transactions would be left stranded.

The association concluded that proactive dispute resolution is no longer just a corporate necessity but a matter of national economic stability.