Managing Director, Metrodigital Limited, the Pay-TV parent company of Silver Lake Television (SLTV), Ifeanyi Nwafor, has stressed the need for indigenous firms to break the monopoly in the telecom sector and inject more needed competition into the market.

He said that the call has become necessary, following the recent hike in subscription price by MultiChoice, owner of DSTV and GoTV. Nwafor stated this during the post-SLTV launch reception and awards ceremony, which was held in Abuja yesterday.

MultiChoice has consistently increased the prices of its services despite lawsuits filed by subscribers seeking to curb the trend. Last month, MultiChoice raised its subscription fees by 25 per cent. According to Statista, MultiChoice currently controls 10.23 million subscribers, while StarTimes owns 7.81 million subscribers.

Nwafor said that the firm is focused on ending the monopoly to enable the price of products to come down over time.He said: “I am expecting that other companies would also come in, and when there’s serious competition, everyone will know that it is better to work on services provided to customers.

“Nigerians are very happy that the monopoly has been broken; you can get to other platforms and get some channels you get in DSTV and GOTV at a cheaper rate.
“SLTV is a platform for innovation. We want Nigeria to be a leader in this industry, not only in Nigeria but across the globe.”