Strong indications have emerged showing how the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is working assiduously to keep Quality of Service (QoS) at its best status nationwide in the faces of frustrating challenges.
Currently the Commission is frontally addressing persistent external risks that continue to affect network performance, including frequent fibre cuts, vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, theft at network sites, power-related disruptions, and denial of access for maintenance and operations.
Only last year alone, over 27,000 avoidable fibre-cut incidents, primarily linked to road construction and vandalism, were recorded nationwide. Each incident has a direct impact on network performance, service availability, and consumer experience. The Commission is working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other stakeholders to operationalise the Presidential Order on Critical National Information Infrastructure. Through this collaboration, organised syndicates involved in the theft and resale of telecom equipment have been disrupted, while engagement with Federal and State Ministries of Works is putting in place a governance mechanism to reduce avoidable fibre cuts arising from road construction.
To improve transparency, the Commission has mandated operators to provide timely notifications to consumers whenever there is a major service outage and to restore affected services within defined timeframes. Details of major incidents are also logged on the Commission’s Major Network Outages Reporting Portal at the time of incident: https://uptime.com/statuspage/ncc.
The NCC continues to hold all key players in the Quality of Service value chain accountable. Under the updated Quality of Service Regulations 2024, which were gazetted in July 2024, Mobile Network Operators and Tower Companies were allowed a defined transition period to order, ship, and install required equipment nationwide to enhance service quality. That transition period was not open-ended.
The Commission commenced enforcement from November 2025, including consumer compensation measures for poor service quality and additional investment obligations on Tower Companies where performance failures were identified.
This enforcement will continue, and where operators fail to deliver measurable improvements, the Commission will take appropriate regulatory action, including escalation where necessary.
The NCC commends the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Adviser, and other critical stakeholders for their continued support of the Commission’s regulatory mandate. At the same time, the Commission reiterates that addressing the underlying challenges affecting Quality of Service requires a whole-of-society approach.
We therefore call on all stakeholders—across federal, state, and local governments, as well as host communities—to support efforts aimed at protecting telecommunications infrastructure, facilitating timely access for maintenance, and creating an enabling environment for sustained investment in the sector.
The NCC remains firmly committed to ensuring that all Nigerians enjoy reliable, affordable, and high-quality telecommunications services. The expectation is clear: the industry must now deliver measurable improvements, and the Commission will continue to enforce compliance in the interest of consumers and the wider economy.
