MTN boss says Trump's tariff war could raise the price of your mobile data

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita is waving a yellow flag over Trump’s global tariff agenda, and how it might hit African telecoms where it hurts: infrastructure and expansion.

Speaking both in Johannesburg and at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Mupita warned that new US trade policies could spike the cost of radio equipment, slow down 5G rollouts, and force telcos like MTN to rethink pricing across the continent.

Why it matters: MTN, Africa’s largest telco by revenue, has budgeted $2 billion for its 2025 infrastructure push across 17 countries. But rising costs tied to global trade tensions—like the proposed US tariffs on tech imports—could throw a wrench into that plan, especially in markets already battling inflation, regulatory headwinds, and currency fluctuations.

Zoom out: This isn’t the first global curveball for MTN. In Nigeria, forex scarcity and diesel price hikes previously disrupted base station rollouts. In Ghana, regulatory friction slowed down growth. Now, Trump-era trade war 2.0 might just be the next big external headache.

Mupita is calling for more “strategic autonomy” on the continent, including local manufacturing, pan-African collaboration, and tighter policy alignment, to reduce reliance on supply chains vulnerable to geopolitical drama.

The bottom line is that African telcos are doing the math, and the numbers don’t look great if trade tensions persist. With universal connectivity and digital inclusion still far off, the continent’s telecom future could be shaped by decisions made in Washington.