The Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has announced that “appropriate regulatory action” will be imposed on MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and T2 if they fail to resolve network challenges and deliver quality call and data services going forward.
Tijani disclosed this in a statement shared with Nairametrics on Sunday.
The development comes weeks after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) denied cancelling or banning airtime borrowing and data advance services, instead blaming service providers for the temporary suspension.
What the Minister is saying
The minister hinged the regulatory warning on the position that several investments already made in the telecom sector will address the foundational gaps in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure over the next two to five years and permanently transform connectivity across the country.
He also emphasized the immediate stabilization of the sector.
- “We have secured funding, led by the World Bank, and established the framework for a special purpose vehicle with Project BRIDGE to deliver nationwide open-access fibre infrastructure. Deployment of fibre will commence, alongside new tower rollouts through NUCAP, before the end of the year, even as we also expand our satellite capability.
- “What this means in practical terms is simple.
- “A small business owner should be able to access reliable, high-speed fibre internet directly at their home or shop, rather than relying solely on dongles or unstable mobile connections. That is the level of meaningful connectivity we are building towards,” he maintained.
According to him, operators are now operating in a more stable, transparent, and market-driven environment and have returned to profitability.
He explained that this means operators now have both the capacity and the resources to fix outstanding issues within their networks and improve the quality of service delivered to Nigerians.
- “Let me therefore be clear: the conditions required for improved service delivery have now been established.
- “It is now the responsibility of telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and T2 to take all necessary steps to resolve network challenges and deliver the level of service Nigerians expect.
- “At the same time, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been fully empowered, without interference, to carry out its mandate of monitoring performance, enforcing service standards, and ensuring compliance across the industry,” he added.
He stressed that the ministry will continue to rely on the Commission’s periodic reports to track network performance, as well as feedback from Nigerians, including complaints and experiences shared across public platforms, to engage both the NCC and operators more actively in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
- “Going forward, we expect to see clear and measurable improvements in call quality, data performance, and coverage,” he warned.
The minister highlighted that where operators deliver, it will be recognized.
- “Where they do not, the Commission is expected to take appropriate regulatory action.
- “Nigerians should begin to see improvements in Quality of Service and receive value for what they pay for, now and in the future,” he added.
Backstory
The development comes after the Nigerian Communications Commission directed Mobile Network Operators to compensate subscribers in areas where network quality falls below prescribed standards.
The directive was part of efforts to strengthen consumer protection and ensure that telecom users are not left to bear the impact of poor service delivery.
Nigeria’s telecom sector has faced persistent complaints over poor network quality, dropped calls, and slow data speeds.
As a result, the NCC intensified efforts to strengthen service quality monitoring and enforce performance standards across the telecom sector.
The Commission also introduced new Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations in 2024, which set strict Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for telecom operators, covering metrics such as call drop rates, call setup success rates, and network congestion.
What you should know
The Commission explained that the new pricing regime has reversed years of under-investment that slowed network expansion and weakened service quality.
He pointed out that before then, the value chain was lopsided—tower companies could adjust prices annually for inflation and FX rates, but Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) were stuck with fixed tariffs.
