By Sonny Aragba-Akpore
With recorded cases of 27,000 fibre optic cable cuts in 2025 alone, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is worried about the state of quality of service and seeks help from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to manage and reduce to the barest minimum the incessant cuts on fibre optic cables by alleged vandals across the country.
The NCC is equally disturbed that unless the ONSA and other security and concerned agencies support the moves to checkmate the increasingly sophisticated fibre optics cuts, its desire to reduce vandalism may be a pipe dream. And the quality of service will continue to decline.
In 2024, NCC published guidelines on Quality of Service (QoS) thresholds, and among others, specifies possible sanctions for operators who do not comply with the threshold. But while this appears to be in the right direction, poor QoS does not rest alone on the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), the commission reasons. Only recently, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank (CBN) on how Mobile Network Operators (MNOS) should compensate subscribers for failed and incomplete calls.
The NCC wants to enforce standards and strict regulations for optimum subscribers’ experience, and it wants us to believe. Early last week, Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani gave a marching order to the NCC to enforce compliance with the Quality-of-Service guidelines it initiated in 2024.
The Minister, in a statement said among other things that since transparency in the sector has brought operators to profitability, to whom much is given, much is expected from them. And so the “NCC, has been fully empowered, without interference, to carry out its mandate of monitoring performance, enforcing service standards, and ensuring compliance across the industry “adding 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 even more actively in the days, weeks, and months ahead.”
Also, last week, the NCC released mandatory improved performance metrics for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Tower companies, with a focus on reducing dropped calls and increasing data speeds.
These Operators must now notify consumers during major service outages and report them via the NCC’s Major Network Outages Reporting Portal.
The Operators have equally been specifically directed to upgrade infrastructure, with plans for over 12,000 additional sites in 2026, of which nearly 3,000 have already been completed, including 5G site expansion. Enforcement of the updated QoS Regulations 2024, including potential sanctions and automatic consumer compensation for poor network service, is said to be ongoing. On Performance Metrics, the regulator targets improvements in network coverage, capacity, and internet speed, with a goal of raising the national median download speed above 20 Mbps.
The reality of incessant complaints about the quality of service by consumers weighs heavily on the NCC that it returned to the drawing board to release elaborate ongoing efforts, including massive infrastructure investments, and strict regulatory enforcement that are aimed at permanently resolving the country’s Quality of Service (QoS) challenges.Admitting the stagnated period of under-investment to grow the networks, the commission said the massive, ongoing network expansion and modernisation cycle is beginning to yield fruits.
The commission’s working document, signed by Head, Public Affairs Nnenna Ukoha, explained that in 2025 alone, Mobile Network Operators injected over ₦2.13 trillion into network upgrades, while Tower Companies contributed an additional ₦373.8 billion, a funding effort that successfully added and upgraded over 2,800 telecom sites nationwide.
“This is expected to be accelerated during the course of 2026 with ambitious expansion targets, as the NCC has secured industry commitments to deploy and upgrade over 12,000 sites this year alone, with nearly 3,000 already completed.”
In arriving at its present position to create a meaningful customer experience, the commission noted recent public concerns regarding the quality of telecommunications services in parts of the country. The working paper states that “It recognises the frustration experienced by consumers when calls drop, internet speeds slow down, data services become unstable, or service disruptions affect daily activities.
“It admits that telecom services are now central to how Nigerians work, learn, do business, access essential services, and stay connected. “Consumers are therefore entitled to reliable service and must receive value for the services they pay for.”
For the past two years, improving Quality of Service has been a central regulatory priority for the Commission. Hence, it has intensified monitoring of Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers and Tower Companies, strengthened data-driven oversight, and deepened engagement with relevant public institutions to address structural barriers that affect service delivery. “These measures are intended to ensure that the industry moves towards measurable improvements.”
The document states that the sector is currently undergoing one of its most extensive network expansion and modernisation cycles in recent years, following a prolonged period of under-investment. Noticeable interventions include the addition of faster 4G and 5G layers on existing sites, expansion of fibre backhaul to improve site capacity and resilience, targeted deployments in high-demand urban locations, rollout into underserved communities, and general network equipment refresh.
“These investments are welcome, but the Commission expects that they must translate into visible and measurable service improvements for consumers. “While there appears to be a semblance of improvement in QoS, the NCC says the expansion drive is continuing in 2026 in response to Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital ecosystem and the exponential growth in data consumption.
“This is likely to enjoy a boost through industry commitments for the addition and upgrade of several sites within the year, of which a large number have already been delivered. The deployment of next-generation infrastructure is also accelerating, with more than 730 additional 5G sites already deployed across 27 states so far in 2026 “In addition, and in line with its Spectrum Trading Guidelines, the Commission has facilitated the reallocation of a majority of idle and underutilised valuable radio spectrum among the three major Mobile Network Operators, while also rearranging spectrum blocks to provide contiguity for operators.”
The NCC is optimistic that the interventions are designed to improve spectral efficiency, network capacity, and service performance. On the Commission’s Quality of Service and Quality of Experience assessments, which it conducted using crowdsourced and field-based analytics, gradual improvements in network capacity, coverage, and average data download speeds across several parts of the country are expected.
“And as subscribers continue to migrate to faster 4G networks, with 4G penetration rising from 45% in January 2024 to 54% currently, national median download speeds have increased from 16.5Mbps to 20Mbps within the same period. Power availability at telecom towers has also improved from a national average of 99.3% in January 2025 to 99.7% currently.” These improvements are most evident in areas where recent upgrades and new site deployments have been completed.
However, the Commission is equally clear that the pace and consistency of improvement must increase, particularly in locations where consumers continue to experience poor call quality, slow data speeds, congestion, and service instability. In alignment with government policy to deepen fibre penetration to homes, businesses, schools, and public institutions, the Commission is also at an advanced stage of conducting a market study aimed at creating a wholesale market segment. This will enable smaller and more localised Internet Service Providers to expand service penetration and deliver internet services at a lower cost.
This complements government-backed initiatives such as Project BRIDGE and other efforts aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s national digital infrastructure. The Commission claims it is also addressing persistent external risks that continue to affect network performance, including frequent fibre cuts, vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, theft at network sites, power-related disruptions, and denial of access for maintenance and operations.
With avoidable fibre-cut incidents, which involved 27,000 cuts in 2025 alone, primarily linked to road construction and vandalism, nationwide, the commission said each incident has a direct impact on network performance, service availability, and consumer experience, saying the commission is working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other stakeholders to operationalise the Presidential Order on Critical National Information Infrastructure.
“Through this collaboration, organised syndicates involved in the theft and resale of telecom equipment have been disrupted, while engagement with Federal and State Ministries of Works is putting in place a governance mechanism to reduce avoidable fibre cuts arising from road construction. “And to improve transparency, the Commission has mandated operators to provide timely notifications to consumers whenever there is a major service outage and to restore affected services within defined timeframes.
“The NCC claims it continues to hold all key players in the Quality-of-Service value chain accountable. Under the updated Quality of Service Regulations 2024, which were gazetted in July 2024, Mobile Network Operators and Tower Companies were allowed a defined transition period to order, ship, and install required equipment nationwide to enhance service quality. That transition period was not open-ended. The Commission commenced enforcement from November 2025, including consumer compensation measures for poor service quality and additional investment obligations on Tower Companies where performance failures were identified.
“This enforcement will continue, and where operators fail to deliver measurable improvements, the Commission will take appropriate regulatory action, including escalation where necessary. “The NCC calls on all stakeholders—across federal, state, and local governments, as well as host communities—to support efforts aimed at protecting telecommunications infrastructure, facilitating timely access for maintenance, and creating an enabling environment for sustained investment in the sector. The NCC claims it is firmly committed to ensuring that all Nigerians enjoy reliable, affordable, and high-quality telecommunications services. There are manifest indications that if all goes well, QoS may be on the upward swing.
*Aragba-Akpore retired at the NCC and a telecommunications expert
