The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria’s telecoms regulator, has directed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to compensate subscribers for poor quality of service.
Under the new directive, operators that fall short of prescribed Quality of Service (QoS) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will be required to provide direct compensation to affected users within specified locations and timeframes.
The Commission said subscribers should not bear the burden of service deficiencies where operators fail to meet regulatory benchmarks. Compensation will be issued in the form of airtime credits, calculated based on customers’ average usage patterns and their presence in Local Government Areas where service disruptions occur.
The policy underscores the NCC’s regulatory philosophy of putting the consumer at the centre of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. With telecommunications services increasingly underpinning economic activity, social engagement, and access to digital platforms, persistent service failures have far-reaching implications for productivity and business continuity.
While fines have historically served as deterrence, the new framework strengthens accountability by linking service lapses to immediate consumer restitution.
In a parallel move, the NCC is also tightening oversight across the infrastructure value chain. Tower companies responsible for critical network assets, such as masts, have been mandated to reinvest fines imposed on them into measurable infrastructure upgrades, in addition to any further penalties the Commission may apply.
The Commission reiterated that operators must continue to invest in network resilience, capacity expansion, and infrastructure upgrades to meet rising demand. It added that regulatory tools will increasingly be deployed to promote fairness, transparency, and sustained service improvement.
