•Operators commit N1tr, expand connection, capacity with 2700 new sites

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has admitted the poor state of telephone service quality in the country and has subsequently charged the operators to move from quality of service to quality of experience.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, at the 94th edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament held in Lagos, said, “Quality of Service today is not yet where we want it to be—but it is equally true that we are no longer where we used to be.”

Maida believed that much still needed to be done to improve telephony quality, stressing that Nigeria’s telecom sector has witnessed remarkable growth. He said that from about 500,000 active lines when the sector was first liberalised to over 169 million active mobile subscriptions and a teledensity of 78.11 per cent as of July 2025, the industry has made tremendous strides.

“However, such growth must be matched by corresponding improvements in service quality to ensure that consumer expectations are met. The NCC remains fully committed to this goal, working hand in hand with all industry stakeholders.”

The NCC EVC recalled that in the past, the Commission’s efforts were largely centred on ensuring that operators complied with defined QoS key performance indicators, adding that “however, we have since expanded this scope to encompass all consumer touchpoints across the telecom service consumption chain.

Today, our focus extends beyond measuring service quality—it is about ensuring a holistic Quality of Experience (QoE) for every consumer. For us, QoE captures the entire journey of the consumer—from choosing a network and completing the onboarding or registration process, to the actual usage experience, which includes faster speeds, wider coverage, fewer dropped calls, and tariff transparency, all the way to customer support and even the offboarding process.

“As the regulator of this dynamic sector, let me restate that quality of service delivery is non-negotiable! Consumers have the right to reliable, efficient, and high-quality telecommunications services,” he stated.

While disclosing that telcos are not relenting, Maida informed that collectively, the operators have committed over $1 billion (N1 trillion) in new investments aimed at upgrading network infrastructure, modernizing equipment, and expanding coverage nationwide.

According to him, over the past six months alone, tower companies and operators have deployed more than 2,700 additional capacity and coverage sites across the country. He said these sites will directly improve network strength, service reliability, and ultimately user experience for millions of Nigerians.

With the Parliament’s theme as “Addressing network quality for improved consumer experience,” the EVC listed three initiatives introduced by it to tackle the menace of poor service. These are updated QoS regulations, tariff reforms and significant investments into the telecom industry (about N1 trillion invested), protecting Nigeria’s critical telecom infrastructure, mandatory reportage of major network outages, and tackling failed payment transactions.

According to him, one of the most recurring complaints consumers have made to operators, and the Commission is that of failed electronic payments for airtime and data. He said to address this issue, a Joint Task Force comprising the Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and financial institutions was set up. He added that the task force has developed a framework that is currently under review to standardize operations and improve the reliability of electronic transactions across our networks.

On the issue of CNII, the EVC said the NCC is working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which is tasked with the responsibility of operationalising the Order. He said the Commission has taken decisive steps to implement the order within the telecommunications sector, saying that an Industry Working Group has been established to oversee implementation, beginning with ensuring operators’ compliance with site security standards.