The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said telecom operators have committed to upgrading about 12,000 network sites in 2026 as part of efforts to improve service quality across the country.
Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the NCC, disclosed this during a press briefing in Lagos, where he also urged subscribers to remain patient as ongoing infrastructure investments gradually translate into improved user experience.
Maida explained that operators had carried out just over 300 site upgrades in 2025 for both coverage and capacity expansion, but that the scale of activity has significantly increased this year with a new commitment to 12,000 upgrades.
According to him, 2,800 sites have already been upgraded in 2026, including the deployment of about 63 new sites.
“So far, 2,800 of those have been done, including about 63 new sites,” he said.
He noted that the upgrades involve additional spectrum deployment on existing 4G infrastructure as well as the modernisation of legacy 2G and 3G sites into 4G and 5G-ready networks. He added that the current rollout pace already surpasses last year’s performance.
“We are already way ahead of what we did last year,” Maida said.
The EVC also highlighted that operators continue to expand capital investment in the sector, with one telecom company reportedly committing over $1 billion in 2026 alone. He said such investments are critical to supporting network expansion and improving overall service quality.
“We reported last year that we were over a billion. This year, one of them has already committed over a billion,” he stated.
On spectrum management, Maida explained that the commission had facilitated several spectrum trades to boost network capacity. He described spectrum as the “highway” through which telecom traffic flows, noting that wider and better-quality spectrum leads to stronger network performance.
Through its secondary market framework, the NCC made available 100MHz of previously underutilised spectrum. The frequencies, previously held by operators including NATCOM and T2 Mobile, were redistributed among the three major mobile network operators.
He further disclosed that the commission also released part of its own 50MHz spectrum holdings to support industry-wide expansion.
“This was what enabled some of the site upgrades that I was referring to, so that the operators can have wider highways and better quality highways,” he said.
Maida added that lower-band spectrum remains particularly important for expanding rural coverage due to its wider reach and stronger propagation capacity.
On consumer protection, the NCC said its directive on compensation for subscribers affected by poor service will take effect immediately. The measure is aimed at ensuring that users receive value where service quality falls below expected standards.
The development ties into earlier commitments by the commission to strengthen consumer protection and improve service quality across the telecom sector in 2026, amid persistent challenges such as network congestion, outages and inconsistent data speeds despite ongoing infrastructure investments.
In a New Year address earlier in January, Maida had stressed the importance of balancing operator sustainability with consumer trust.
“If consumers do not experience reliable and affordable service, the sector loses trust, and if operators cannot invest sustainably, the sector cannot grow. Achieving the right balance builds trust, attracts investment, fosters innovation, and ensures more Nigerians can fully participate in the digital economy,” he said at that time.
