Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has directed the country’s telecom regulator to impose automatic penalties on operators for network failures within 90 days.
The directive signals a shift from voluntary compliance to stricter regulatory accountability in a sector long plagued by repeated service disruptions.
The directive comes at a time when public frustration with telecom services is at a peak. In 2025, MTN alone recorded 1.62 million customer complaints, highlighting persistent issues with dropped calls, slow data, and outages. These disruptions, subscribers say, have persisted despite repeated regulatory assurances.
“The expectation is clear: Nigerians must experience tangible improvements in the quality, reliability, and value of telecommunications services,” Tijani said in a letter dated January 8, 2026, to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) seen by .
“Infrastructure investment enables capacity; regulatory enforcement and accountability must deliver quality,” he added.
Tijani’s letter makes clear that incremental reforms are no longer sufficient.
Persistent dissatisfaction with call quality, data performance, network availability, and complaint resolution timelines, he said, requires more visible and consistently enforced regulatory action.
The NCC told that concerns about telecom services have shaped its strategic focus for 2026, with an emphasis on turning regulatory oversight into measurable improvements in service delivery.
“Deliberate efforts are being made to expand the availability of information in the public domain, with the dual objective of strengthening public confidence and reinforcing operator responsibility in delivering improved Quality of Experience (QoE) to consumers,” the commission stated.
At the heart of the directive is a 90-day framework designed to shift telecom regulation from discretionary oversight to predictable, enforcement-led supervision.
The first phase of the directive, to be implemented within 30 days, centres on transparency and public accountability.
The NCC has been instructed to publish quarterly, operator-specific Quality of Service scorecards benchmarking each operator’s performance. These scorecards will track core indicators such as call completion rates, dropped calls, and actual data speeds compared with advertised claims.
The move builds on the NCC’s earlier efforts to improve visibility into network performance. In May 2025, the regulator launched the Uptime Report portal, requiring operators to report and publicly disclose major network incidents, including fibre cuts.
Hosted on the NCC’s website, the portal functions as a real-time status dashboard where operators log qualifying outages, detailing their causes, affected locations, impact on subscribers, and restoration timelines. It also identifies external parties, such as construction firms or vandals, linked to infrastructure damage.
Despite these measures, the portal has not yet curbed the frequency of fibre cuts, with incidents continuing to rise month on month.
The directive also mandates the creation of a Consumer Experience Index to track how subscribers perceive network quality, ensuring user feedback is published alongside technical data. Operators must also submit region-specific performance reports, enabling the regulator to identify congestion hotspots and regional disparities with greater precision.
The most significant changes take effect after 60 days, when the NCC will introduce automatic, progressive sanctions for repeated service breaches. This marks a clear departure from the regulator’s traditional reliance on discretionary enforcement, which often resulted in delays or inconsistent penalties.
A case in point is the interconnect debt between Globacom and MTN, which had lingered for nearly two years and was only resolved in January 2024 through last-minute, “amicable” mediation. The episode underscored the regulator’s previous preference for negotiated settlements over strict, rule-based enforcement.
Under the new framework, repeated network failures will trigger predefined penalties, creating a clearer cost for poor performance. The Minister has also directed the introduction of time-bound Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for resolving consumer complaints. Operators’ compliance rates with these SLAs will be published, adding another layer of accountability.
To ensure reported improvements are credible, the NCC has been mandated to conduct targeted audits and spot checks, particularly in locations that consistently record poor network performance. These checks are intended to verify operator claims and prevent cosmetic compliance.
The final phase of the directive, to be completed within 90 days, introduces escalation measures for chronic offenders. Operators with persistent service deficiencies will be required to submit formal remediation plans outlining how they intend to address recurring issues. These plans must include clear timelines and specific investment commitments.
Where non-compliance persists, the NCC has been authorised to impose tougher regulatory measures, including restrictions on expansion approvals or access to certain regulatory incentives. The Minister stressed that recent tariff adjustments granted to operators are conditional, warning that “improved consumer outcomes must match enhanced commercial viability.”
At the end of the 90 days, the NCC must publish a final progress report comparing current service levels with baseline outcomes, demonstrating whether the new enforcement regime has delivered tangible improvements.
The directive also lands against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to protect telecom infrastructure. In June 2024, telecommunications assets were designated Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) by presidential order.
Operational steps will include nationwide mapping of critical assets such as fibre routes, towers, and data centres, engagement with state governments, and public awareness campaigns to curb vandalism. Despite these measures, industry data shows that service disruptions remain widespread, underscoring the gap between policy intent and real-world outcomes.
