The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed mobile network operators (MNOs) to compensate subscribers for poor network quality, effective April 2026.
This move aims to ensure accountability in the telecoms sector. Affected subscribers will receive airtime credits, calculated based on their average spending patterns and presence in areas with service failures.
The compensation applies to voice, data, and SMS services, covering both individual and corporate customers.
MNOs must identify affected subscribers and provide compensation directly, without the need for claims, the telecom regulator said on its official website on Tuesday.
Under the framework, subscribers in impacted local government areas will receive automatic airtime credits for service failures affecting voice calls, SMS, and data. Both individual and corporate customers are eligible.
“To be eligible, you must have experienced poor network service in an affected local government area, and you made at least one outgoing revenue-generating event (billed call, SMS, or data session) during the relevant period,” the regulator stated.
Subscribers will be notified via SMS once airtime credits are applied, with details of the amount and purpose of the compensation.
For subscribers with multiple SIMs, only affected lines with billed activity in the impacted LGAs will be credited. Those who switch operators during or after an outage will not be eligible for compensation from the previous operator.
Telcos have been dealing with frequent network failures driven largely by massive fibre-cut incidents, while at the same time pushing major investments into upgrading core infrastructure and expanding coverage.
In the first quarter of 2026, telcos recorded 577 network outages, with 361 of them directly caused by fibre cuts; MTN and Backbone Connectivity together accounted for about 70 per cent of these incidents.
