Telecommunications operators in Nigeria are now mandated to compensate subscribers with airtime credits for service disruptions under a new consumer protection framework unveiled by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The regulator stated that affected users in areas impacted by network outages will receive automatic compensation, signalling a tougher enforcement stance on quality-of-service standards across the industry.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Commission’s Head of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, said affected subscribers will receive airtime credits automatically, with the value determined by their average usage and their location within local government areas impacted by service disruptions.
“Subscribers should not be made to bear the full burden of service disruptions where operators fail to meet prescribed standards of service delivery,” she said.
The NCC said the initiative forms part of its broader consumer-centric regulatory approach, designed to position subscribers at the heart of Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem.
” Telecommunications services today underpin economic activity, social interaction, and access to digital opportunities. When service quality is poor, the consequences affect productivity, commercial activities, and even public confidence in our communications system,” the regulator stated.
The commission further directed tower companies that own critical infrastructure, including masts, to channel fines imposed on them into verifiable infrastructure upgrades aimed at enhancing network performance.
” The commission will continue to reinforce the obligation of operators to invest consistently in network resilience, capacity expansion, and infrastructure upgrades to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services,” it said.
The regulator said it will continue to deploy its enforcement and oversight mechanisms to advance fairness, transparency and accountability across the sector, while ensuring subscribers receive the level of service they are entitled to.
” The commission will continue to reinforce the obligation of operators to invest consistently in network resilience, capacity expansion, and infrastructure upgrades to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services,” it said.
The regulator added that it will continue to apply its regulatory instruments to foster fairness, transparency and accountability in the sector, while ensuring subscribers enjoy the quality of service they deserve.
” Further to this directive, the commission is also mandating tower companies to invest in infrastructure with measurable outcomes using sums that it has fined these companies, in addition to other financial fines the commission will deem appropriate,” the statement added.
Nigeria’s telecommunications networks suffered major disruptions in 2026, according to data tracked on the NCC’s Uptime Portal, with fibre cuts accounting for the bulk of incidents. Leading operators including MTN, Airtel and T2Mobile, as well as internet service providers such as BCN, were impacted, disrupting services across several states.
The country recorded 238 network outages — a 101.7 per cent increase compared to December 2025.
Fibre cuts were responsible for 67.6 per cent of cases (161 incidents), while power failures accounted for 18.5 per cent (44 incidents). BCN recorded the highest number of disruptions at 188 cases, followed by MTN with 75.
The outages affected states including Abia, Cross River, Enugu and Lagos, with some repairs taking up to six days to complete.
Fibre cuts spiked 900 per cent to 40 incidents in January and continued into February, with 18 additional cases recorded by mid-month, bringing the total to 58 in the early months of 2026.
More than 90 per cent of the incidents occurred in Abuja, with further cases reported in Lagos, Enugu, Benue, Anambra and Abia. Affected operators included BCN, T2Mobile, Airtel and MTN.
