Nigeria’s telecom regulator is set to impose penalties totaling about ₦12.4 billion ($8.85 million) on operators for breaches of service standards, representing one of the strongest enforcement actions in recent years. The move comes as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) updates its enforcement regulations to ensure that fines and sanctions continue to deter poor performance and address gaps in the current legal framework.
The push for stricter accountability follows a directive from the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, instructing the NCC to introduce automatic penalties for network failures. Under revised Quality of Service regulations issued in July 2024, operators’ performance obligations were expanded, with stiffer penalties introduced and a compliance deadline set for September 2025.
Earlier enforcement actions have already signaled the regulator’s intent. In October 2025, three operators Globacom, Airtel, and IHS Towers were fined a combined ₦45 million ($32,100). The larger penalties now moving through regulatory processing, with pre-enforcement notices issued, reflect cumulative breaches amounting to ₦12.4 billion.
The NCC emphasizes that while recent tariff adjustments were designed to balance consumer protection with operators’ economic realities, investment alone is not enough. In 2025, the sector recorded over $1 billion in fresh capital investment and added more than 2,850 new or upgraded network sites, yet service quality remains a top concern. The regulator stresses that these investments must translate into measurable improvements in the Quality of Experience for consumers.
Consumer protection remains a central focus. The NCC has targeted the three most common complaints: network failures, unexpected data depletion, and refunds from failed airtime or data transactions. In the fourth quarter of 2025, a comprehensive audit of 965 base stations in the Federal Capital Territory uncovered 5,557 infractions, 81 percent of which had been addressed by year-end.
Spectrum management has also been a critical lever for enforcement. Since September 2025, the commission has reallocated roughly 50 MHz of underutilized spectrum to expand networks, contributing to improvements such as Globacom’s average 4G download speeds rising from 9.5 Mbps to 15 Mbps. Consumer-focused initiatives have complemented these technical measures, with over ₦10 billion ($6.7 million) in refunds facilitated for failed transactions and public campaigns encouraging smarter data use, resulting in fewer complaints.
Looking ahead, the NCC is finalizing Nigeria’s first structured Spectrum Roadmap (2025–2030) and revised enforcement regulations, intended to make penalties predictable, oversight continuous, and compliance unavoidable. For consumers frustrated by unreliable service, the looming fines signal a regulator increasingly willing to hold operators accountable. For operators, it represents a shift from negotiated settlements to transparent, rule-based enforcement, where penalties, data, and service quality define the cost of underperformance.
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