NCC orders MTN, Airtel, others to inform users about major network outages

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated telecom service providers in Nigeria to inform consumers of major service outages on their networks through media channels.

According to a statement by the regulator, the announcement must state the causes of the service interruption and the areas affected by the service interruption and indicate how long it will take to restore service.

Consumers must also be informed one week in advance of where operators have planned service outages.

The order, contained in the “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),” is part of the Commission’s drive to ensure the timely resolution of outages, enhance the quality of experience for telecom consumers, and keep consumers informed.

According to it, Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers and other operators that provide last mile services will also provide proportional compensation, including extension of validity, as may be applicable and in line with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, where any major network outage continues for more than 24 hours.

It identifies three types of major outages to include:

1. Any network operational condition such as fibre cut due to construction, access issues, theft aand vandalism and force majeure that impacts five per cent or more of the affected operator’s subscriber base or five or more Local Government Areas (LGAs).
2. An occasion of unplanned outage of, or complete isolation of network resources in 100 or more sites or five per cent of the total number of sites (whichever is less) or 1 cluster that lasts for 30 minutes or more.
3. Any form of outage that can degrade network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume, as specified by the Commission from time to time.

In addition, the Commission further directed that all major outages must be reported by operators through the Commission’s Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is accessible to the public through the Commission’s website.

The portal also discloses the identity of the culprit of the disruption.

Commenting on the Directive and the Major Outage Reporting Portal, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Engr. Edoyemi Ogor stated that, “The Commission has trialled the reporting process and portal with operators for some months now before issuing the directive.

“By providing consumers and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry with timely and transparent information on network outages, we are entrenching a culture of accountability and transparency. This approach also ensures that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure.

“This also aligns with our broader commitment to the effective implementation of the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). It reinforces the need to safeguard these assets, given their centrality to national security, economic stability, and the everyday lives of Nigerians,” Engr Edoyemi Ogor said.

Nigeria now has nearly 170 million active phone subscribers – NCC says

According to data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), there were 169 million phone subscriptions in Nigeria as of January 2025. This implies that 78% of the country’s 216 million people are connected to mobile network services.

The industry’s revenue has equally skyrocketed, jumping from ₦2.25 trillion in 2018 to ₦3.86 trillion in 2022. Mobile services, especially GSM, drive most of this cash flow, showing how crucial phones are to daily life.

Similarly, the dominance of mobile internet highlights the critical role of mobile networks in bridging Nigeria’s digital divide. The report also shows that internet penetration is a key driver of growth, with 142,161,409 internet subscribers, of which 141,655,587 are mobile internet users.

Fixed wired internet accounts for 14,053 subscriptions, while Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) contribute 285,702 and 206,067 subscriptions, respectively. 

The telecommunications sector contributes significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with nearly 15% of the nation’s GDP in the 4th quarter of 2025.