The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria has commended the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for halting the enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-traditional Consumer Lending regulations on telecom operators, saying the decision strengthens regulatory clarity and boosts investor confidence in the industry.

The development follows the gradual restoration of airtime and data credit services across telecom networks nationwide, after weeks of disruptions that left millions of subscribers affected.

Meanwhile, Airtel Nigeria has fully restored airtime credit services, while Globacom has also resumed operations, bringing relief to an estimated 40 million active users who rely on airtime and data advances for daily communication and business activities.

In a statement, the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, said the development followed the FCCPC’s decision and reflected regulatory maturity, while also recognizing the Nigerian Communications Commission’s role as the primary regulator of the telecommunications sector.

“Adebayo said, “We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry.

“Suspending the DEON regulations as they apply to telecom services recognises that the established regulatory architecture, with the NCC as the sector’s primary regulator, is the appropriate framework for governing these products. That recognition matters enormously for industry stability and investor confidence.”

The ALTON chairman noted that the recent disruption underscored the importance of airtime credit services to millions of Nigerians, especially low-income users who depend on the facility to maintain daily communication and stay connected.

He said, “What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it.

“It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy. Removing that infrastructure, even temporarily, had consequences that went far beyond the telecom sector.”

The controversy began in April when MTN, Airtel, Globacom and T2mobile suspended airtime credit services following an FCCPC directive mandating compliance with the DEON framework. The commission had classified airtime credit as a form of consumer lending, subjecting it to rules originally introduced to curb abuses in the digital lending space.

The decision triggered a regulatory disagreement with the Nigerian Communications Commission, the statutory body responsible for overseeing telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

However, MTN Nigeria, with more than 95 million subscribers and the largest share of the market, had not yet restored airtime credit services at the time the report was filed.

Adebayo, however, expressed confidence that all operators would soon fully reinstate the service.

He stated, “The regulatory environment is now clear, and we are confident that full restoration is imminent.

“The courts have spoken, the FCCPC has acted responsibly, and two of the four major operators have already restored services. There is no ambiguity left, and we expect every operator to act with the urgency their subscribers deserve.”

He also called for stronger cooperation among regulatory agencies to avert a recurrence of similar disputes in the future.