‘Nigeria’s 90,000km fibre-optic project hits 60 per cent completion’
There are indications that telecom operators in the country may be sanctioned and fined to the tune of N12.4 billion ($8.85 million) by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for service standards breaches, among others.

From Lagos to Kano, Abuja to Rivers, subscribers have continued to complain about persistent drops in telephone service quality.

In fact, MTN recently disclosed that it resolved 1,624,263 customer complaints in 2025, spanning call centres, social media platforms, emails and physical service centres nationwide. While the challenge persisted, MTN acknowledged that performance improvements remain a work in progress.

As such, in a report by TechCabal yesterday, NCC said it was currently in the process of updating the Enforcement Processes Regulations to ensure that sanctions and penalties continue to achieve their intended deterrent effect.

The telecom regulator said the review would also incorporate additional communications-related offences not currently addressed under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and its subsidiary instruments.

Indeed, under revised Quality of Service regulations issued in July 2024, performance obligations were expanded, including for colocation providers, towercos and stiffer penalties were introduced. After a transition period through 2025, the NCC set a September compliance deadline.

According to information, in October, three operators, Globacom, Airtel, and IHS Towers, were fined a combined N45 million ($32,100).

More significantly, additional breaches carrying cumulative liabilities of about N12.4 billion are now moving through regulatory processing, with pre-enforcement notices already issued.

The telcos may have further come under scrutiny following their promise of improving the quality of service in the country, following the January 20, 2025, 50 per cent tariff hike adjustment.

The approval, according to the NCC, was carefully made to balance consumer protection with the economic realities facing operators, especially rising costs and currency pressures.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, had disclosed last year that as early as the second quarter of 2025, operators had invested over $1 billion in the sector to boost services and deployed over 2,850 new and upgraded network sites nationwide.

However, despite the spending, NCC noted that more needed to be done to ensure these investments translated to improved telephone service in the country. It has narrowed its consumer protection efforts to the three most common complaints with regulatory interventions: network quality failures, unexpected data depletion, and refunds arising from failed airtime and data transactions.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s plan to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable across the country has reached 60 per cent completion, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has said.

Tijani disclosed this yesterday at the Global Privacy Day 2026 Press Conference organised by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in Abuja, where government officials, regulators and key stakeholders gathered to discuss data protection and the continued growth of Nigeria’s digital space.

The fibre-optic rollout, known as Project Bridge, was launched in the fourth quarter of 2025 as part of the Federal Government’s plan to expand broadband access and strengthen digital infrastructure nationwide.

“When I talk about connecting 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, it is not just a dream. I have actually done 60 per cent of that work,” Tijani declared.

Beyond fibre deployment, Tijani said the Federal Government was also investing in other initiatives to improve nationwide connectivity.

He disclosed that rural telecommunication towers were being deployed to serve underserved communities, while plans are underway for the procurement of two new communication satellites.