The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed tower companies to make urgent improvements in service quality or face regulatory penalties. The regulator set an August end deadline for these companies to address issues affecting internet quality, such as poor power supply, equipment failures, and a lack of sufficient technical support.
Aminu Maida, NCC Executive Vice Chairman, gave the directive on Thursday during a high-level meeting in Abuja, attended by major tower infrastructure providers, including IHS Towers, American Tower Corporation (ATC), Pan-African Towers, and other key stakeholders like the internet network providers. The session focused on identifying bottlenecks in infrastructure delivery and improving the performance of shared telecom assets, according to two industry stakeholders who attended the meeting and asked not to be named to speak freely.
NCC did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Tower companies, commonly known as TowerCos, form the structural backbone of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry. They provide the physical infrastructure—cell towers, rooftop sites, and associated facilities—on which mobile network operators (MNOs) like MTN, Airtel, and Glo deploy their radio and data transmission equipment.
TowerCos are also responsible for ensuring a 24/7 electricity supply to these sites and securing them against theft and vandalism. Any failure at the tower level directly impacts the quality of voice and data services delivered by MNOs.
“When there’s no power, the radios shut down. If the power fluctuates, the radios restart, and that leads to dropped calls, frozen data sessions, and frustrated customers,” explained one industry insider. “So, while the Commission rightly holds MNOs accountable for service quality, tower providers must also be held to the same level of operational reliability.”
IHS Towers is the dominant tower infrastructure provider in Nigeria, managing between 16,000 and 19,000 sites, which accounts for roughly 62% of all co-located telecom infrastructure nationwide. American Tower Corporation (ATC) is the second-largest player, with about 8,270 towers, while Pan-African Towers—a smaller, indigenous firm—operates between 760 and 1,000 sites, although not all are currently active.
Given their market size and role in connectivity, the NCC’s directive places the burden squarely on these companies to resolve issues of downtime, delayed maintenance, and poor power management that have plagued the network in recent months.
Until 2024, the NCC’s Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations focused mainly on mobile network operators. However, in August 2024, the Commission revised the framework to include the entire connectivity value chain, including TowerCos. The updated regulations, which have since been gazetted, introduced new key performance indicators (KPIs) that infrastructure providers are now obligated to meet.
“It’s been eleven months since those new regulations came into effect,” Maida said during the meeting. “That’s more than enough time for all parties to align with the performance standards expected of them.”
The NCC is implementing a transparency-focused enforcement strategy, a source familiar with the matter said. As part of this approach, the Commission recently launched the Major Incident Reporting Portal, mandating all service providers to publicly disclose significant network disruptions.
The regulator is also developing a set of performance dashboards to be hosted on its website, allowing consumers to track how well tower and mobile network operators are adhering to their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
While some tower companies have attributed their failure to meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to delayed payments from mobile network operators, claiming that cash flow constraints limit their ability to maintain sites or invest in backup power systems, the NCC is no longer accepting these explanations.
During the Abuja meeting, Maida made it clear that financial disputes are not a valid excuse for poor service delivery. “Operators must fulfill both their technical and financial responsibilities,” he said, stressing that performance expectations remain non-negotiable regardless of internal challenges.
Mark your calendars! Moonshot by is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot..com
